My Boys
by Jordan202
Summary: A look into Owen and Amelia's lives a few years into their marriage. Omelia.
1. Chapter 1

I had this unfinished here for a while now but episode 12x23 gave me the inspiration to finally complete it.

Basically a very fluffy Omelia story telling about their domestic married life years into their marriage.

Here goes, I hope you all like it:

 _ **MY BOYS**_

Amelia was exhausted.

She was supposed to have left the hospital at 4 pm, but it was nearly 9 already and she had just finished a surgery that took much longer than expected.

Her back muscles were sore and her feet were hurt from standing up for more than eight straight hours. She was starving and in urgent need of rest, but all she could think about was going home to her boys.

After a quick but revigorating shower at the attending's lounge bathroom, she grabbed her purse from her locker and got in the car. The drive home was a fast one, given there was barely any traffic at that hour.

She had asked her scrub nurse to text her husband from her phone few hours before, to let him know she would be late. But even so, Amelia didn't expect to be at the hospital for so long.

After parking the car in the garage of their two-story suburban house, she tiptoed on her feet in the dark, trying not to make any noise as she went upstairs. Only a dim light was on, in the master bedroom by the end of the hall. She figured Owen must have been reading or watching TV with the lights off.

Slowly, she reached the door and heard a little boy's voice ask in an almost begging tone:

"Dad, will you tell us a story? Please…?"

It was Lucas, their oldest son.

"Sorry, bud, it's way past your bedtime. You should all go to your rooms and I will tuck you in"

"But mommy isnt he-ue" A toddler's voice echoed in protest.

Amelia smiled broadly in the dark. It had been either Robbie or Danny who had spoken, not even she could tell them apart only by the voice.

"Please, dad" Lucas begged. "Tell us a story while we wait for mom. She won't be long" the boy added, not really sure how much longer she would be.

Another three voices joined in the chorus and Owen was defeated. Through the small gap of the doorway, Amelia peeked inside and saw Owen putting their four boys down on the king size bed.

Amelia watched with pride her happy little family. Up to that day, she still couldn't believe how her life had turned out to be. Raising four kids was harder than anything else she had ever done, but never had felt more fulfilled. She was grateful everyday for her family and for the four happy, healthy little faces that always greeted her home with smiles and kisses.

Not long after she and Owen had gotten married, she found herself pregnant with Lucas and shortly after their eldest was born, she found out she was carrying Thomas. She remembered how she and Owen had happily decided to "close the factory" as she had referred to it back then. Two boys with only 14 months apart were a handful of work already. But within a few weeks of throwing up every day after a getaway trip to Hawaii, she found out that the stomach bug she thought to have caught was actually a new, unplanned pregnancy. To add to her surprise, she almost passed out when she found out they were having twins.

Much to Owen's dismay, none of them were a girl, so now there they were, with four kids in less than five years. It was insane, messy and harder than Amelia ever thought it could ever be, but the joy those children brought to her and Owen couldn't be described.

"Dad, I want a superhero story" Thomas's voice could be heard out loud.

In the dimly lit room, Amelia could spot Owen giving each of the twins the green stuffed dinosaurs they never slept without.

Even though they shared a King Size bed, the mattress felt small for Owen and the four boys. All of them were tall and strong built for their age, taking after Owen. When they were running around, jumping, playing with cars and throwing footballs in the backyard, Amelia always felt like she was a little fly in a house of giants.

"Ok, this is a story of a super hero" Owen started, pulling the covers to accomodate Danny on the further left "Once upon a time there was a superhero that could save all kinds of people"

"Yaaaas!" One of the boys replied in excitment.

"Our superhero had a super vision. Super steady hands that could make it all better and most importantly, a super healing touch that could cure all boo-boo's"

"Reaaally?" One of them exclaimed as the others shared their disbelief.

"Yes" Owen confirmed "whenever someone was feeling not quite like themselves, or were having some trouble inside their heads, this superhero could go and make it all better. She could…"

"She?" Lucas interrupted, sounding puzzled "I didnt know girls could be superheroes too, dad"

"Well they sure can, buddy"

"But Batman is a man. Superman is a man, too"

"But mom is a girl" Owen explained, smiling tenderly.

"Mom is not a superhero" Thomas giggled at his dad sillyness.

"Is too" Owen replied "What does mom do for her job?"

"She fixes people" Lucas started, not quite sure where that was going.

Amelia listened to them from the corridor, her heart bursting with love for the amazing man who had given her those amazing children and who now was a wonderful father to them.

"She sure does" Owen explained "No one at the hospital can do what mom does. She has super fast and magic hands and she can see inside people's heads!"

All four boys opened their mouths in disbelief.

"And also, when of you gets a knee scrape playing ball outside, who has a magical kiss that makes it all better?"

"Mommy does" Robbie replied, proud of himself for answering.

The mention of Amelia made the boys remember she wasn't there for their bedtime. It took a toll especially on the twins, who at 21 months of age still needed her presence very much.

"I want my mommy…!" Danny started to cry and that was it for Amelia. She entered the room, startling all five of them and quickly got in bed hugging Danny tightly.

"I am here, baby" she kissed the toddler on the head. After putting him down on her lap, Amelia proceeded to kiss each one of her children and finally offered her face to Owen, receiving a kiss on the tip of her nose and another on the corner of her lips.

"Mom, can you really see inside people's heads?" Thomas asked, looking appalled.

Amelia knew Owen had romanticized her profession but she played along and looked at her second born:

"I sure can, Tommy. But that is a secret. We all have super powers in this family, but we have to keep it to ourselves, ok?" She looked at each of the four boys, meeting Owen's gaze at last, receiving an approving look from her husband.

For the next twenty minutes, Amelia laughed and received an attack of kisses from the boys, who made her join them in her own bed. Owen watched as she then calmed them down, soothing them with kisses and gentle caresses on their heads.

He knew the amazing comforting effect that Amelia's kisses and whispers had so he was not surprised when the boys quickly fell asleep. They were always energetic and explosive, but once they fell asleep, they usually didn't wake up till the following day.

"Is it my turn now?" He asked in a low, husky voice, searching for her eyes in the darkness of the room.

"It is no one's turn but yours. Always" Amelia laughed when Owen tried to give her one of the stuffed animals that belonged to the boys.

"Everything that matters in the world is in this bed right now" She confessed, and Owen stretched out his hand for Amelia to hold. They stayed lying down and watching their children for a while, one on each far end of the bed, until they decided it was time to put them the boys in their own beds.

It already took Amelia a lot of energy and effort to hold the weight of one of the twins, so big that they were, but she wasn't surprised when she saw Owen holding up the two oldest and heaviest boys, one in each arm. He made it look so easy, with his tall frame, broad shoulders and muscular arms.

While she put Robbie in his crib in the room next door, Owen went back for Danny and did the same with the twin on the opposite side of the room.

"Are Tom and Luke sound asleep there?" Amelia pointed with her head to the room on the other side of the hall.

"Yes they are" Owen pulled the blankets to cover Danny "and so is Dan now".

He turned around and saw Amelia kissing Robbie goodnight. The blond little boy hugged his stuff dinosaur while sucking on a glow-in-the-dark pacifier that read "future quarterback", which made Amelia smile.

"They are growing so fast" Amelia let a sigh when they gently pulled the door on the twins' room but not fully closed it "what have we been feeding them? Baker's yeast?"

Owen laughed and wrapped one arm around Amelia's back while they made their way together to their bedroom "They have the Hunt genes" he declared, looking very pleased with himself.

"They look like vikings who've decided to play rugby. I still can't believe I gave birth to all four of them. I'm afraid we won't have enough money to feed them when they are all teenagers" Amelia teased and turned on the nanny cam on her nightstand.

Owen got under the covers of their already messy bed and watched as Amelia undressed inside their bedroom closet.

She unbuttoned her jeans and got rid of it, together with her shirt and bra. Wearing only panties, she delighted him with a vision of the dimples on the bottom of her back while she searched for pajamas on the top shelf.

"Don't" Owen said invitingly as Amelia pulled one of his pajama shirts to wear "Don't put on any clothes, babe. I fully intend to get you off them the minute you step back here"

Amelia smiled ear to ear. Even though she knew she would cave to Owen's plea, she put on the shirt anyway. She wasn't about to make things too easy for him when she planned to feel his hand on her skin when he did undress her.

"You stubborn little…" Owen pulled her to him, making her drop on the top of his body in bed.

He proceeded to involve her in a hungry kiss, that stole from her all the air she needed to breathe.

Amelia was flushed and breathless when he let go of her lips.

"I wanna make love to you" He confessed, kissing her neck and cupping one her bare buttocks with his hand.

Amelia wasted no time in replies and let Owen undress her just like they had planned. With four kids, two very demanding jobs and the other responsibilities of their adult lives, they found themselves with very little time to be alone as a couple.

They had been together for quite a few years now, and intimacy was more present than ever. Amelia had never been so close to anyone. From one look, she could tell what Owen was thinking or feeling. And he could do the same.

As a result, over the years sex had become an even more pleasant activity for both of them. They felt more connected, and trusted each other to the point of being completely vulnerable with no hesitation.

"Oh my God, Owen" Amelia sighed when she felt his tongue touching her in the exact places he knew she enjoyed "you are…"

But the rest of her sentence got lost amidst the explosion of pleasure that made her body shiver with spams when she reached an orgasm.

Minutes later, they were in the kitchen, and Owen was fixing her dinner while Amelia distractedly ran her fingers through the mail, sorting the bills from the cards and folders they usually received.

"A special cheese and ham omelette, like only your favorite husband can make for you" Owen teased, handing her the dish and a fork.

"First the love, then the food. You do know how to me happy." Amelia thanked him with a blown kiss in his direction.

Owen put the utensils he had used in the dishwasher and followed Amelia to the living room.

It was almost eleven pm, and he and Amelia liked to watch the late news together so he lay on the sofa, putting one leg behind her and the other on her lap, which she used as a table to balance her plate.

"This was delicious" Amelia complimented him after she was done, putting the empty plate on the coffee table in front of them. She snuggled up next to him on the couch "I had such a long day today. But this, right now, is my favorite part."

"Funny, if I had to guess" Owen rubbed his palm of her back gently "I'd say our time on our bed a while ago would be your favorite."

"Well…" Amelia laughed, feeling torn. "Now I am not sure either."

She moved herself on top of him, between his legs sliding gently on his chest to place her head on the crook of his neck, resting against him.

"It was so sweet what you said to the kids, by the way. About me, I mean."

"You know they already look up to you, anyways."

"I am scared I am not around enough."

"You are a great mom, Amelia. We are good parents." Owen reassured her.

Amelia thanked him with kisses on his jaw and neck and shortly after, fell into a peaceful slumber while Owen finished watching the news.

When he realizes she was asleep, he didn't have the courage to wake her up after the long day she'd had. Moving carefully from beneath her, he turned off the tv and picked Amelia up on his arms, carrying her upstairs in the dark corridor.

When he gently placed her on their bed and started pulling the covers, he heard Amelia's sleepy voice:

"Babe, will you please turn off the lights?"

Owen laughed when he saw the mischief on her face with eyes closed, but he wasn't mad she had let him carry her upstairs even though she wasn't completely asleep. The truth was he enjoyed doing things for her, pampering her and taking care of her like she often did to him.

Amelia was the love of his life, the mother of his children and the first reason he smiled every morning.

Gently making his way to the other side of the bed after attending to her bidding, Owen got beneath the covers and he felt her body snuggling up to his.

"You are unbelievable" He said in a light tone, kissing her back.

"I love you too."

And they both fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Here goes Chapter 2. Hope you all like it. Reviews are much appreciated. Thanks especially to Belle for proof reading this.

 **My Boys – Chapter 2**

Amelia paced down the stairs holding one of the twins in her arms, an empty milk bottle in her hand and one sock to which she couldn't find the pair. Everybody was going to be late for school and work.

It was a typical morning in the Hunt household.

"Momma, will you and dad make it to my soccer game today? _Pleeease_ " Lucas begged as he watched his mother put one of the twins in the folding highchair.

"I promise I will try my very best, honey" Amelia replied, as she poured orange juice in two sippy cups and started scrambling eggs almost at the same time. She hadn't scheduled any complicated surgeries for the day because she wanted to go watch her son, but she couldn't fully promise him because of the last minute emergencies that arrived often in the ER.

"Babe, have you seen my car keys?" Owen asked rushing down the stairs with the other twin in his arm. The toddler was missing a sock.

"No, I haven't" Amelia replied, dividing the eggs between two blue plates "Have you tried the living room toy chest? And where is Thomas, by the way?"

Amelia proceeded to put the orange juice and eggs in front of Lucas and went upstairs in search of Thomas. When she came back, Owen was holding his car keys in his hands with a baffled look on his face.

"Don't ask me how they got there" Amelia read the question on his face and anticipated the answer "But my best guess would be either Danny or Robbie."

"Right" Owen rolled his eyes playfully and noticed Thomas's grumpy face "What's wrong, buddy?"

"He is just upset _he_ doesn't have a soccer game today" Lucas provoked.

"No!" Thomas denied, visibly hurt and upset "My tummy hurts, mommy".

Amelia ran her hand through her child's hair and gave him a quick kiss, knowing how it bothered Thomas that Lucas already got to do a lot of things he still couldn't.

"Eat your eggs, Tom, and you will feel better. And also, don't worry because next year we are going to be there to watch you play, too."

While the boys ate, Amelia grabbed a red apple from the fridge and ate it while packing the twins' bags for daycare.

"You should eat something more, you have an early surgery this morning" Owen offered her a piece of toast but Amelia refused it, grabbing four kids' bags.

"I'll eat at the hospital, we're already late, let's go."

As usual, all four boys demanded attention at the same time, which demanded a lot of effort to put them in the appropriate car seats. First stop was daycare for the twins and then kindergarten one block away for the eldest kids.

"So, our anniversary is coming up on Friday" Amelia ran her hand on Owen's thigh while he drove through the morning traffic "We have to at least celebrate it this year, since last year we hardly remembered it."

"We have four children under the age of 6, babe. Sometimes I can't even remember my own name." Owen grinned at her direction when they stopped at a red light.

"Well, I am sure that if I asked Maggie she wouldn't mind having them for one night. Or we could get your mom to take the twins and Maggie could have Luke and Tom…"

"Amelia, it's a lot of work and…"

"Owen, please, I want to have sex!" She practically yelled, interrupting him. He was startled for a second and when he focused his eyes on the road again, Amelia explained "I want to have a real, grown up, romantic evening. Not us sneaking up upstairs to have a quickie before someone wakes up in the middle of the night asking for cookies. I want to be dressed up, and wear makeup, and look sexy to my husband instead of wearing your clothes and smelling like play-doh!"

"I think you look very sexy in my clothes" Owen flattered her "You look even better without them, though. And for what it's worth, I like the smell of play-doh."

"Owen…"

"I am kidding. Alright" He gave in, knowing how much it meant to Amelia to have a night alone with him "Let's do it. I'll talk to my mom and you check with Maggie. Don't worry about the rest. I'll take care of it."

"A yes and the promise of a surprise on our anniversary? What has gotten on you today?" Amelia flirted with him.

"Well, be aware that I expect lots of sex." Owen explained his reasons as they parked the car outside the hospital. "And also," He wrapped one hand on Amelia's waist from behind as she picked up her purse inside the car "I am looking forward to having you dress up for me." Owen gave her a quick kiss on her temple before they entered the hospital together.

Both parted ways in the ER and Amelia proceeded to the fourth floor where she would be taking rounds with the residents before joining her fellow surgeons in the OR.

Owen involuntarily smiled when he predicted Amelia wouldn't stop talking about their upcoming date. It was only Tuesday but for the next three days, she would be all smiles and excitement and plans. Life with her was never boring.

"Hey, Kepner" Owen approached the ER isle, where they kept all the tablets with the patient files "Slow day?"

"Last night was pretty busy but we managed to send all the incoming traumas up to surgery and discharged all the patients in observation this morning. There's a head lac in curtain 3 and they asked for a surgical consult on a vomiting senior."

"I'll take the head lac, thank you very much" Owen stole the tablet from her hands, laughing at April's expression. Two interns were passing by and he signaled them to come over "Johnson, Willis, Dr. Kepner has a patient for you two."

The eager interns went towards April and Owen was looking for a suture kit when he felt his cell phone vibrating insistently in his pocket. Owen ignored it because he was already wearing gloves but when the phone wouldn't stop, he decided it was better to answer it.

Amelia's mask covered her immense smile of pride when she realized how many people were lining up in the OR gallery to watch her. Lately, it had been like that, even for small procedures like aneurysms or placements of VP shunts. It seemed like Neuro had become a popular and very sought after specialty among the residents.

She was almost finished dissecting a meningioma when the corner of her eyes caught Maggie entering the room, one hand holding a surgical mask over her face.

"Hey, are you almost done?"

"Yeah, why, do you need the room?" Amelia replied without taking her eyes off the field.

"No, I don't" She looked at Amelia's right side and saw Stephanie Edwards assisting. Stephanie had been Amelia's resident and now was a fellow working in Amelia's service "Owen just got a call from the school."

"What's wrong?" For the first time Amelia stopped what she was doing and took her eyes off the field "Please tell me Lucas didn't jump from the swings, again" She said, recalling the last time school had called them at work. The boy had hit his head and needed three stitches.

"No, it was about Thomas this time" Maggie said. Thomas was the calmest of their children and it was unlikely he would be doing anything like that "They said he has a fever and is complaining of abdominal pain. Owen just went over to get him. He asked me to come find you. Oliver Davis is taking a look at him right now" Maggie added, referring to the chief of Peds.

"Oh, God" Amelia stepped back, an awful feeling growing in her stomach "Edwards, will you close for me? I have to go downstairs."

Amelia followed Maggie outside and noticed how scared her sister looked, Maggie tried to calm her down.

"There's no need to be worried, Amelia, he probably has a viral gastroenteritis or other kind of stomach bug he caught from the other kids at school. I saw Owen bring him in and he looks fine. His only complaint is a stomach ache"

"He was complaining about it this morning and I didn't listen" Amelia felt a lump in her throat "Now I am feeling like the worst mother in the world for sending him to school in pain."

Maggie heard the 'ding' from the elevator doors and followed Amelia into the ER. They quickly spotted Owen in one of the consult rooms, sitting on a chair while their little boy had his arms wrapped around his neck, head resting on his shoulder.

"Tommy!" Amelia announced, entering the room and at the sight of her, Thomas instantly lifted his head and offered his arms to be held by his mother "Oh, baby, what's wrong?"

"Davis paged Karev for a consult" Owen got up and explained, looking from Maggie to Amelia. "He wants to rule out appendicitis but it's looking a lot like it."

"Oh, God" Amelia crashed on the chair previously occupied by Owen and tightened her embrace on Thomas. The thought of her four year old going to surgery made her want to drop to her knees.

"He is going to be fine, Amelia" Owen approached them and leaned in to give his son a kiss on the head "Aren't you, buddy?"

Thomas nodded, visibly distressed and Maggie volunteered to help.

"Let me know if you guys need anything, ok? Do you want me to go pick up Lucas and the twins later today?"

"Oh, shit" Amelia remembered "Lucas' game. Damn it" She cursed once more and when Thomas's bright blue eyes looked at her, in shock, Amelia calmed him down "It's okay, baby, it's not your fault. You're going to be fine" Amelia rocked him back and forth, trying to think of what to do.

"I called my mom and she will go pick up Lucas and take him to the game if we're still here" Owen said, knowing if Thomas really needed surgery they wouldn't be home in time "Maggie, if it's not going to ruin your evening plans, would it be too much to ask if you could pick up the twins from daycare? I will let them know it's you who's going today" Owen added, knowing the strict rules of the private daycare they sent their smaller children to. Maggie and Owen's mother were the only ones other than the parents with authorized privilege to go pick up the twins.

"Not a problem at all" Maggie assured them "I'll go see a patient upstairs and I'll catch up with you guys soon"

Maggie had recently married Andrew Deluca, after years of hot and cold romance. They had finally decided to be in the same place and had gotten married last summer. Lucas had been their ringbearer and Ellis, their flower girl.

Ever since Meredith had gotten together with Nathan Riggs, with whom Owen didn't have a good relationship, Amelia and Meredith had grown a bit apart but they always made sure their kids saw each other and played with each other.

Owen didn't realize he was pacing back and forth in the room when Alex Karev went inside, looking for them. Thomas was a bit reluctant to leave Amelia's arms but Karev convinced him to lay on the hospital bed so he could be examined. Being surgeons, both Owen and Amelia knew that fever and abdominal pain in a small child could be a number of things, but appendicitis was a very likely cause in their son's case.

"His bloodwork came back positive for infection and his Blumberg is positive" Karev told them assertively "Considering the abdominal pain, the nausea and the fever, it's pretty safe to prep him for an appy. I'll just order a CT to confirm it and we'll get going. I'll try to have him back to you before lunch, ok?"

"Karev?"Amelia spoke, her voice in fear "You will be doing it yourself, won't you?"

"I wouldn't let anyone touch him" He gave her shoulder a quick squeeze and a head nod towards Owen before leaving the room.

Owen tried to calm down and process all the information but Amelia looked like a trainwreck. He knew she was a protective mother and if she could, she would submit herself to any pain or discomfort rather than let one of their children go through it. Owen knew it because he felt the same way. But unfortunately, having the surgery was the only option for Thomas and he knew the sooner they removed his appendix, the better.

"Momma, what's happening?" Their son asked, trying to sit up unsuccessfully.

"Uncle Alex is going to take you to the place where mommy and daddy work" Amelia sat on the bed and caressed his hair, pushing it out of his eye "And he is going to give you medicine that will make you sleep. And when you wake up, you will be feeling a lot better, ok?"

Thomas nodded in agreement, despite being scared. Just recently, a woman in white clothes had come and stuck him a needle in his arm. He didn't want anyone other than his mommy near him now.

"Is he gonna give me another inkjection?"

"Injection" Amelia corrected him, wiping the tears of her eyes and smiling to him while she cried to the world "No, honey, it's all good now. No one is gonna poke you anymore, ok?"

"And when we get out of here" Owen said, bending down to their height "We are gonna go home and watch a lot of cartoons in mom and dad's bed, ok?"

Amelia didn't know why, but she felt really uncomfortable about the whole situation. Her mother's instinct told her that something was terribly wrong, while all signs pointed to a very ordinary, common condition that happened every day to thousands of kids and adults everywhere. Her son's labs were within expected, his CT scan did show a swelling of the appendix wall, but nothing they couldn't easily remove before it could rupture. His nausea and pain were under control now the IV meds had been administered but she felt like something was missing. Deep inside her, her heart was constricted and she felt very scared.

"Owen" Amelia caught his hand when Thomas fell asleep on the hospital bed "I have a bad feeling about this."

Owen tried to read what she meant by that, but this time, he couldn't.

"I don't know what you mean."

"I don't know either. But I just have this terrible feeling of anguish that won't go away."

Owen reached out to her and wrapped his arms around Amelia's body, kissing the top of her head.

"Karev is an amazing surgeon. Thomas will be fine, Amelia. He will." He said to her, but also to himself.

Soon after, Owen and Amelia walked up to the OR accompanying their son, but as they made it to the OR door, Karev kindly explained they couldn't stay for the procedure.

"Can I at least stay with him until he's under?" Amelia asked, referring to the anesthesia. Karev agreed and everyone in the OR that knew them gave the couple gentle nods and kind words of support. Amelia and Owen were nice doctors and good surgeons and the whole staff sympathized with their ordeal.

Afterwards, the couple headed to the waiting area. They knew an appy lasted usually less than hour and when the clock passed the mark of 60 minutes, Amelia got up, unable to control her anxiety.

"Easy, baby, I am sure everything is ok." Owen tried to calm her down but the truth was he was getting just as scared.

"I told you, something was wrong" Amelia eyes were watery and her pulse was racing. It was hard keeping quiet when by having OR privileges she could burst inside the room and find out what was happening "Why hasn't anyone come here to update us? I am starting to freak out."

Owen knew it was useless to try to talk her into calming down and so he let her resume her pacing. It felt like an eternity before they saw Alex Karev coming out, taking off his scrub cap, a defeated look in his eyes.

Amelia never felt more scared in her life.

Her eyes widened as she looked in terror to Karev. Owen got up and stood by her side, noticing something was clearly wrong. He held his breath as they heard the Peds surgeon in front of them start to speak:

"Guys" Karev looked bravely into their eyes "I am so sorry".


	3. Chapter 3

Amelia heard the familiar voice that brought chills down her spine:

 _Thomas is better off now. You don't really need him._

She felt a constriction in her heart and reached out her hand to hold onto her son, but didn't matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get to him.

 _You have other three boys, so you won't miss him. Just like you don't miss the first one…_

"No!"

Amelia woke up in a dark room full of bleeping red lights. Monitors, she noticed.

By her side, next to the chair she had fallen asleep on, a miniature bed held the fragile body of a four year old boy. Amelia remembered she was in the PICU of the hospital she worked on, her son lying on a bed next to her, his breathing deep and calm.

She recalled the events of the previous day, listening to Karev's voice one more time in her head.

" _Guys. I am so sorry. I should have come here sooner to update you, but I'm afraid it was messier than I first expected. Thomas is doing fine now, but we had some complications during the procedure. A mesenteric branch ruptured and we couldn't locate the source of the bleeding, so I had to make a larger incision. He lost a lot of blood, guys. I held back on the transfusion and I want to keep him overnight for observation in the PICU. If he shows any signs of instability, we might still need to give him a transfusion."_

It was the middle of the night and nothing anyone could say or do had convinced Amelia to leave her son's bedside for a minute. She had nestled on a chair by his side where she could watch the monitors closely and easily identify if anything went wrong. Amelia was heartbroken. Her little boy had gone through hell and she felt guilty that she hadn't caught it sooner.

Owen had wanted to stay too, but Amelia convinced him to go home. After all, they had three other children that also required attention. Her husband would be back first thing in the morning.

She saw on the clock it was a little past 4 am. She must have fallen asleep in the quietness of the room. Getting up to stretch her tired and stressed muscles, she stepped to her son's side for the hundredth time to take a better look at him.

Thomas was the blondest of all her sons, and his skin was the fairest. But right now his complexion scared her. His usually pink cheeks and red lips had a sickening pale color, and his face looked drained and tired. Amelia leaned in closer and a tear drop fell on his chest, which she quickly wiped. She was about to go tell the nurse the IV bag needed replacement when two bright blue balls shone in the dark, catching her attention.

"Momma…"

Thomas's voice was weak, but listening to it made Amelia's inside burst with joy.

"Hey, baby." She ran a hand through his hair and bent down to kiss his face. "Momma is here, my love."

Thomas' failed attempt to reach his hand up to her made Amelia sat on the edge of the bed and hold his small hand herself.

"I don't want you to worry, ok? Everything is fine."

"But you crying?" Some color came back to Thomas's face as he slowly woke up "I don't like you sad."

"Oh honey, I am not sad. I am the happiest now that you're awake and talking to me."

"Momma." Thomas eyes sparkled in the darkness of the room and Amelia kissed him once again, delighted to hear his voice, but at the same time worried sick he might be in pain. "I need to pee."

Thomas didn't understand why his mom found that so funny, or why she cried and laughed at the same time while she held his hands, kissing him multiple times on every tiny surface of his face.

Owen got to the hospital before 7 am the following morning, holding two cups of coffee in his hand. He barely had any sleep at all, especially after Amelia had texted him a couple of hours before letting him know Thomas had finally woken up after his extensive surgery.

He was looking forward to seeing his son, now more than ever. Owen needed to see him and hold him to be sure everything was alright.

His mother had spent the night at their house and had given him a lot of help. She was kind enough to take the twins to daycare, promising she would stop by later to see Thomas after she had left her own house in order for the day.

By Owen's side, a very nervous Lucas followed his dad through the corridors of the hospital he had been in a couple of times as a visitor, and fewer times as a patient. His dad had explained to him last night that Thomas hadn't come home because he was sick and that had been why mommy had had to stay with him at the hospital. Lucas didn't understand much, but his dad sounded very serious. Like that one time he grounded Lucas for a week because he had cut Danny's hair with his paper scissors.

"Mom!" Lucas ran to her arms when he caught sight of his mother.

No kids were allowed as visitors in the intensive care units and both Owen and Amelia knew that but they bent the rules, anyway. Thomas and Lucas were very close and it would do them both good to see each other.

"No running inside the hospital, Luke." Amelia picked him up and sat him on her legs while Owen approached Thomas's bed "Were you a good boy to grandma last night? Did you enjoy your game?"

Owen listened to Lucas telling his mom all about soccer while he took a good look at Thomas. He looked to be in a better shape and now was resting peacefully, but at the sound of his brother's excited voice, his lids gently opened.

Two blue eyes sparkled with joy at the sight of Owen.

"Hi, Tommy." Owen took his hand to his son's head and gently stroked him. "How are you feeling, buddy?"

Sensing his brother had woken up, Lucas quickly moved himself from Amelia's lap and went by Thomas's side, climbing on the bed before either of his parents could stop him. He leaned in and gave his brother a big hug when Owen gently lifted him, worrying about Thomas's abdominal wound.

"Be gentle, Luke. You brother just had surgery. His tummy will hurt a lot if you hug him tight."

"I am sorry, Tommy." Lucas zipped open his school bag and took out a paper sheet scribbled with different colored crayons. "I made this for you so you will feel better quick and we can play soccer and football and swim together soon."

Thomas smiled at his brother and it was visible on his face how his mood had improved ever since Lucas had arrived. The oldest brother went on telling his little brother how his soccer game had been and Owen took a closer look at Amelia for the first time.

His usually bright and full of energy wife looked more tired than he had ever seen her. Even when they stayed up all night taking care of the twins when they were newborns she hadn't look this bad. He felt sorry for her that she had to go through all this pain and uncertainty again, knowing she had once lost a child and how that had devastated her. He couldn't begin to imagine the painful fear Amelia had probably felt to go through a similar situation.

"Hey…" Owen kneeled down on the chair in front of her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I brought you coffee but I couldn't bring it inside the PICU so I left it on our lounge. How are you holding up?" he asked, placing a lock of her hair behind her ear.

Amelia slowly slid to the edge of the seat, wrapping Owen's neck with her arms and they stood up together. A hug was all she needed after the awful night she had been through.

"After all of this is over, promise me we will do something together, as a family?" Amelia pulled a few inches away to look into his eyes. "Let's take some time off, go somewhere, I don't know. All I know is I want to be with all of you for as long as I can."

Owen knew he and Amelia were always talking about taking a few days off to travel with their sons, but they never really got to do it, mostly due to their busy schedules.

"How are Danny and Robbie? Did they sleep well or did they…?"

Owen interrupted her before she could finish her question. "They are both alright. My mother took them to daycare this morning. They really missed you last night but fell asleep quickly after I sedated them," he joked.

"Owen." Amelia lightly punched his arm, a small smile forming on her lips. "I can't be more worried than I already am. There's just no room for more agony here," she pointed to her heart.

"Amelia, Tom is going to be fine," Owen assured her, gently rubbing her back. He knew she was still insecure and very anxious about the whole situation. "Why don't you go home now? Go eat something, take a shower. I can stay with him for the morning."

Amelia didn't like the idea of leaving her son but she knew that in order to care for him, she also needed to take care of herself.

"Okay, I'll go. I'll drop off Luke at school on my way home, but I'll be back in a couple of hours, ok?" She kissed him on the neck and Owen gave her another hug before she grabbed Lucas's things and said goodbye to Thomas.

Thomas had been taken to surgery on Tuesday afternoon and on Thursday Karev transferred him from the PICU to a ward room. On Friday right after lunch, the boy was discharged and Owen and Amelia gladly took him home, after scheduling follow up consults with Karev and Dr. Davis the following week.

Amelia and Owen arranged it so that Thomas could sleep on her bed next to her and Owen would sleep on the living room couch for the following days, accompanied by the twins Nanny Cam. They weren't comfortable leaving Thomas out of their sight just yet. His wound still needed dressing changes and constant care. The four year old was now able to walk and eat solids, but he still felt a lot of pain from the surgery and needed his meds to be taken in regular hours, and that included the middle of the night.

On Friday night, Amelia made sure to give Danny and Robbie a bath while Owen finished dinner with Lucas and Thomas. She hadn't seen much of the twins in the last days and she missed them dearly, knowing they missed her too.

Owen walked into the master bedroom looking for a clean shirt after Lucas had spilled tomato sauce on the one he was wearing when he heard giggles coming from the bedroom suite. In a few steps, he crossed the room and stood on the doorway, enchanted with the scene in front of him.

Amelia was inside the bathtub with the twins, scrubbing their heads while they laughed at the bubbles. Her delicate shoulders seemed smaller; she had probably lost some weight during the past three days. But the gentle swell of her breasts was visible in the tub filled with foam and water. That, along with the feminine sway of her hips as she moved in the water to reach the twins caught Owen's attention. After all those years, after three pregnancies, four children, a lot sleep deprivation, and all their ups and downs, she could still make the blood rush inside his veins at the mere sight of her undressed body.

Owen left the bedroom and went downstairs again to care for the older boys. While Amelia gave the twins their bottle before bed, he made sure Thomas's wound dressing was changed and gave the boy his 8 o'clock pill. Lucas quickly fell asleep on his bed, but as soon as Amelia closed the door on the twins' room, she had to go back to her own and stay with Thomas until he was finally snoozing.

She was tired and really sleep deprived. Amelia had spent the three previous nights sleeping on chairs by Thomas's side, and her entire body felt sore. She had never felt this bad, not even when she was an intern and pulled 48 hour shifts. But before she fell asleep for the night, she needed to go to Owen and at least give him a good night kiss. She was so thankful to have him by her side and she honestly didn't know what she would do without him.

When she reached the last level on the stairs, she noticed him on the sofa bed in front of the TV.

"Owen," she came from behind, placing her hands on his shoulders "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you…"

"You didn't," Owen lied and placed one hand on tops of hers, looking up to see her face. "Is everything ok? Is Thomas asleep?"

"He is," Amelia confirmed, bending down to kiss him on the lips. "He is not complaining of pain anymore, which is good."

"I'm relieved to hear that," Owen said and pulled Amelia over the couch to his side. "Are you okay, babe? I know we've had a few rough days this week but you look exhausted and to be honest, a bit sad. Tell me what's wrong."

"I am feeling like crap, Owen," Amelia confessed, and when she saw how puzzled he looked, she continued. "I had a really bad dream the first night I spent at the hospital… I mean I barely closed my eyes but when I did, I fell into a deep sleep and this awful voice came in my head and made me feel so guilty."

"Guilty?" Owen asked out loud, surprised when Amelia buried her face on his chest and started to cry convulsively. "Amelia, what's wrong? What do you feel guilty about? Thomas is okay, there's no way in hell we could have prevented what happened and…"

"It's not about Tom," Amelia confessed. "I love you so much. So, so much." She couldn't stop the tears from pouring down her eyes. Exhaustion associated with Owen's support encouraged her to storm out all the feelings she had been bottling up inside. "And I love this life we have built for ourselves. I am so grateful for you and for our boys but I feel so damn guilt that I get to have this and sometimes I feel like I forget about _him._ I was _his_ mother, Owen… Tommy got to have you and me crying over his bedside, and he got to come home today and I am so happy about that I couldn't describe with words. But it breaks my heart to think _he_ is there all alone in a distant city and I haven't even got myself to go there recently to go cry for _him._ "

Owen knew Amelia was referring to the baby she had lost long before she had met him. According to his math, the boy would have been 10 or 11 now, and there hadn't gone by a Christmas, Thanksgiving or Mother's Day that Owen didn't catch a glimpse of sorrow behind all the joy Amelia felt when she was surrounded by him and their children. He had always known why, but Amelia rarely talked about it about Owen didn't push her.

But he knew it and he understood it. She hadn't fully recovered from that tragic loss and it didn't bother Owen that she might never. She had lost a son, after all, and he couldn't begin to imagine how that must have felt. He now thought of his sons and the unbearable pain it would be to lose one of them. Amelia was strong and resilient to the world and every day she fought and won battles. So, when it was just the two of them alone, she had every right to be vulnerable and cry for her losses all she wanted. He would be there for her when it mattered and right at this moment, it mattered.

"I am sure he knows it, babe. I am sure he prayed for Thomas just as much as we did. And I know it bothers you that you can't visit his grave more often but I am sure that your love for him reaches him no matter where in the world you both are." Owen felt his shirt getting wet; it was the second time that night. But it didn't bother him either "Amelia," he held her face between his two hands, cupping her cheeks and drying her tears with his thumb. "He loves you just as much."

Amelia broke down once more, sobbing in pain and Owen let her have all the crying she needed to. When her tears finally dried and her pain was numbed by his presence and his comfort, he sat her on his lap in a way that she was straddling him.

"Babe," Owen wrapped his arms around her delicate waist, feeling the wonderful sensation of her breasts against his chest. "Happy anniversary."

Today it had been seven full years since that rainy day that had started so badly and ended up so well. Amelia had vaguely remembered it that morning but throughout the day, with so much going on, she had nearly forgotten it.

"Happy anniversary." She touched Owen's forehead with hers and looked deeply into his eyes. "If I could choose again a hundred times, then a hundred times I would choose you."

Owen smiled with pride and love.

"I promise you we will get to have the night out you wanted so badly. I will take you out to dinner and dancing and then when we come back," Owen squeezed her thighs with his hands. "I am gonna love you over and over and over again until you're too tired to even think."

Amelia laughed, the first real laugh she'd had in all those past few days. She loved Owen's capacity to be sweet even when he was being dirty. It drove her crazy with desire. She wanted to make love to him too, but not right now. She was too tired and they deserved to celebrate the special date in an occasion where they both had more peace of mind.

For now, Amelia would gladly delay the sex and be satisfied with his company, only. At that moment, watching TV snuggling on the couch felt like an amazing way to spend their anniversary night, knowing in her heart all her kids were tucked in upstairs, comfortably sleeping.

And in Amelia's mind and heart, that also included _him_.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Hunt, MVA on the move, ETA of 2 min," Kepner told him as he left one of the suture rooms. It had been a messy day in the ER and Owen's shift was dragging more than usual "You take the mom, I'll take the daughter."

Owen nodded affirmatively and got a new set of gloves and gown for the incoming trauma. After thirty minutes, he had stabilized the patient and was finishing a suture on her head when a nurse called for him:

"Dr. Hunt, there's a man in a suit here looking for you. He is being very insistent."

Owen delegated the task to one of the interns and after making sure everything was alright in the trauma room, he made his way outside, tossing the disposable material he had used in the appropriate trash bin.

"Dr Hunt?" A man in his mid thirties, wearing a suit called his name to make sure he was talking to the right person "Owen Hunt?"

"Yes, may I help you?" Owen frowned.

"Just needed to give you this" The man handed over a yellow envelope with some official letters marked on it.

"What's this?" Owen frowned, curious about the content.

"I just do the delivery, Doctor. But I suggest you seek out the legal department of this hospital for advice."

As the man walked away, Owen got inside the attendings' lounge inside the ER and closed the door behind him.

His crystal blue eyes scanned through the paper thoroughly, but when realization hit, Owen wasn't prepared to face reality yet.

He just couldn't believe he was being sued for sexual harassment.

Amelia parked the car in the garage of their home. She was driving a seven seat minivan with two infant chairs and two seat boosters. And at that moment, they were all occupied.

Today it had been almost two weeks since Thomas had had his surgery and it was his first day back to school. His teachers had been instructed that by doctor's orders he still had to take things really slowly and couldn't yet be engaged in any physical activities.

Amelia saw on the boy's face he looked healthier after just a few days of taking his medical supplies to fight the anemia due to the important blood loss he'd suffered. Thomas's body was strong and kids usually recovered faster so she wasn't surprised when she had to constantly remind him not to jump up and down the house with his brothers.

She was cooking that evening, she decided. Usually Owen took care of that or they ordered takeout, but tonight she was so happy with the news she was about to deliver that she wanted to make a special occasion about it. Over the years, she had learned a few things about cooking and now she wasn't that huge disaster in the kitchen anymore. Well, kind of.

Thinking pasta was the safest way to go, Amelia pulled a spaghetti box out of the cabinets above her head, not noticing she left it open. She helped the boys get rid of their school clothes and put the oldest ones sitting on the counter stools next to her so she could help them with their homework while she cooked and the twins played in the living room within her sight.

"Mom, guess what" Lucas started his usual happy chatter "I learned how to write my last name today. I can even spell it and everything."

"Well done, honey! I am so proud!"

"I didn't learn it" Thomas added humbly, making Amelia laugh.

"Well, you will when you are a bit older, Tom. But you did learn how to write your first name, didn't you? So now you can sign all those pretty drawings you make mommy."

"True" Thomas smiled, pleased with himself. His homework consisted of drawing outlines on the numbers 1 to 5 and he was doing very well, he thought. "When I finish my homework, I am going to draw you something very pretty, mommy. And daddy too."

"Alright then, sweetie, I can't wait to see it" Amelia smiled at him, while she chopped garlic in tiny pieces to make garlic bread.

"When is dad coming home?" Lucas asked.

"About any minute now" Amelia replied, rushing to the living room to prevent Robbie from pulling the batteries from a TV remote.

A couple of minutes later, the boys heard a key turning on the lock and rushed to the door to greet their father. Lucas jumped and wrapped both his legs and arms around his father's thigh, like he usually did, and the twins fought for the remainder of Owen's attention.

One by one, Owen kissed all four boys and asked then about their days.

"Hi, babe" Amelia greeted him across the living room from the kitchen "Took you a while today. Rough shift?"

"It wasn't calm, for sure" Owen approached her and kissed the back of her head "Something smells great, what are you doing?"

"Spaghetti" Amelia replied in excitment.

"With meatballs" Thomas added, grinning.

"Sounds delicious" Owen unbuttoned his oxford shirt and tossed it aside, getting comfortable on the plain white t shirt he was wearing underneath.

"You should all get ready 'cause dinner will be ready in ten minutes" Amelia suggested as she mixed the tomato sauce. "Owen, will you please make sure the boys are done with their homework"

"We are done, mom, we are" Lucas assured her.

Owen noticed Amelia was happier than usual and he decided then it wouldn't be a good idea to tell her about the lawsuit at the moment. They'd had enough of worrying for a while and she deserved a break. He would meet with his lawyer the following day and then, when he knew more, he would tell her.

"So guys" Amelia started when she had fastened both twins on the high chairs, one on each side of her "I have exciting news to tell."

Everyone looked at her in anticipation.

"Babe, remember how a couple of weeks ago we talked about getting away with the boys? Well I checked with Bailey today and she agreed to give us both a week off in July because we already had too many expired vacations. The boys have a long weekend in school for the holiday. So I booked us a trip to Disneyworld! Ha! How does that sound?!"

Both Lucas and Thomas celebrated loudly, cheering and making a fuss all over the place. Amelia looked up Owen expecting him to be just as excited, but he looked worried instead.  
"What's wrong? I thought you'd be up for the surprise"

She sounded disappointed and Owen knew why. He didn't want to rain on her parade, though.  
"It's great what you did for us, Amelia" he placed his hand on top of hers and nodded gently.

Amelia watched as he easily disregarded the subject and grabbed his fork again, ready to resume eating. Lucas and Thomas still debated in excitement about what they wanted to do in the trip. But Amelia wasn't satisfied.

"Owen, are you sure you're okay? You seem a little off."  
"Just tired" He corrected her with a smirk, feeding Robbie while he served himself.  
"Ooo-kay, then" Amelia didn't really believe him but decided she wasn't going to push it.  
"Boys, let's all thank mom for the amazing meal she cooked for us" Owen changed the subject, trying to go back to the previous light atmosphere.

"It's delicious, momma, thanks" Lucas complied, looking satisfied.

"Now eat your vegetables too" Amelia said in an authoritative tone.

Lucas quickly lost his smile and frowned heavily, making both his parents laugh.

After dinner, Amelia kept busy with the dishwashing while Owen took the boys to the living room to play with them for a while. From distance, she could hear:

"Dad, let's play superheroes. I will be super Mario and Tom can be Super Luigi" Lucas took the lead "and you can be Bowser, the villain"

Owen laughed at the boys' playfulness and decided to play along:

"Ok so what exactly do I do? I steal your coins or what?"

"No, you steal the princess" Thomas joined the fun "Mom can be the princess and you have to lock her inside your castle in the highest tower, dad"

"Oh so I'm the green evil monster and mom gets to be the princess?" The boys agreed emphatically, and Owen gave in. "Ok, I guess that's only fair".

He then glanced sideways, noticing Amelia was distracted placing the clean dishes on the shelves. He tiptoed from behind her and when Amelia least expected it, he seized her from the floor, making Amelia scream in terror and the boys laugh with contentment at their father's role playing.

"Owen!" Amelia tried to hit him with a dishcloth, but Owen completely ignored the hit "Put me down"

Owen adjusted her in his arms, holding her high on his shoulders so that Amelia's bottom was leveled with his face. She bent on his shoulder, hitting him on the back while the boys ran around them, trying to playfully attack Owen.

Even the twins joined the game, attempting to "rescue" their mom and Amelia finally gave in, realizing she was outnumbered and couldn't ruin all the fun.

"I will save the princess" Lucas grabbed one of the pillows from the couch and tossed it on his dad's direction "Dad, that's the final blow, you have to put mom down now. We won" He extended his hand to Thomas, who gave him an excited high five.

Owen gently lowered down Amelia, and when her feet reached the ground, she splayed both her hands on Owen's chest.

"That was just mean" She pretended to be mad but Owen knew better "I am glad I have you guys to save me, my darlings." She bent down to kiss and hug all the boys in the same embrace.

"Don't I get one of those?" Owen teased, grabbing her from behind again but this time he wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her on the ground.

Amelia giggled when Owen's trimmed beard tickled the curve between her shoulder and neck, as he traced a line of kisses and gentle bites.

"Oook, time to go to bed, boys" Amelia announced, hearing four loud moans.

Robbie reached out his arms to be picked up, and Amelia happily obliged. Bath time was usually the busiest moment of the day, so it was easier when she and Owen just put them all together in the same shower and took turns washing and clothing them.

Amelia put down the twins while Owen read the oldest boys a story. They reached the corridor at the same time after gently closing the door behind each bedroom they'd been in.

"You're not going to basketball tonight?" She asked, curious.

Owen usually played basketball with some guys from the hospital every Monday night he wasn't on call, and he was usually very excited about it. Today, he seemed to be in a strange mood, that could shift from playful to grim when the boys weren't around.

"Owen, are you really okay?" She cupped his face with one hand, searching for an answer deep inside his eyes.

"I am alright. And yes, I am going to the game." Owen wasn't originally planning to go, but he knew if he stayed at home under Amelia's intelligent observation, he would end up telling her why he was in such a foul mood that night. He needed to figure things out before he could ruin her happiness with such awful news. He would meet the hospital lawyer the following day and hopefully he would have more concrete news to share with her "You know, did I tell you Ben took Tuck to the game last week? He has a pretty good grip of the game for a teenager." Owen looked for a neutral subject.

"Bailey told me he's being watched by a good number of College scouts. That's a good chance for him to get into a good school, I guess" Amelia followed him down the stairs.

A few minutes later, Amelia was curled up on the couch with a cozy blanket when she saw Owen leaving dressed in training shorts, sneakers and a gym t shirt. She enjoyed her Monday nights by herself, when she could relax by the TV and engage on all her guilty pleasures like watching romantic movies on Netflix while she enjoyed a sweet cup of hot chocolate.

A couple of hours later her movie was almost over when she heard the familiar click on the doorlock and saw Owen entering the living room, his gym bag dropping from his shoulder to the floor. He was covered in sweat and Amelia directed a disgusted look at him.

"Oh my God, you look like you ran a marathon. Don't they have showers at the club? Why are you so dirty?"

"There was a leak in one of the main pipes downstairs and I wasn't gonna wait around for them to fix it, it's almost 11 pm" Owen locked the front door from inside, thinking of heading straight to the shower.

He looked from the TV to Amelia and his eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Romance, huh? Is that what you're looking for?" He lifted his brows suggestively "Come here, woman."

Amelia looked at him, perplexed and quickly got up from the couch, rushing in the opposite direction.

Owen chased her, looking like the big bad wolf going after his prey.

"Owen, don't you dare come near me smelling like that" She threatened with a firm voice, taking steps back and simultaneously looking him in the eye so he could see she meant it.

"Scent of a man" He provoked her, taking three large strides in her direction, involving Amelia on his sweaty embrace.

"Aargh!" Amelia resisted, pushing him away with both hands on his chest, but Owen tightened his hug, trapping her arms flexed between both their bodies "Owen, you disgusting pig, I swear I'll k..."

Owen interrupted her by capturing her lips in a sensual, demanding kiss. Amelia tried to pull away at first but his insistent tongue forced her lips to part and she gave in, totally won over by the intensity of his desire.

When she pulled away, breathless, Owen slid his hands on the sides of her body, cupping her breast with one hand as he pulled the back of her neck with the other, bringing her lips to another hungry kiss.

Amelia forgot about the movie and the way he had approached her, her fingers dug into the wet curls on the back of his neck, bringing him closer. She felt her nipples harden against the soft fabric of her pajamas, which quickly got wet after touching his own shirt.

Owen pulled back, looking Amelia in the eyes. Her lips were red and swollen, her pupils were dilated and her breath was shallow and irregular. He loved to turn her on.

"Now that you're smelling like this" He teased, running both hands to her buttocks, pressing her body against his obvious erection "You are gonna have to get in the shower with me"

Amelia ran upstairs closely followed by him, straight towards their suite. Once in the bathroom she turned on the shower, and a thick steamy atmosphere involved them.

They both got rid of their clothes and jumped inside the shower. Owen's manly hands ran through every tiny piece of Amelia's body and she loved the feeling of having him exploring her skin with his experienced hands.

"Turn around, babe" Owen commanded, and spun Amelia around her own center, gluing his chest to her back. He took a step forward, forcing Amelia to move too so that her breasts were right beneath the shower cascade.

She could feel his manhood pressed against her lower back, but she couldn't really think of anything else when his hands traveled around all the places of her body and his mouth sucked every piece of skin between her neck and shoulder blades.

Owen reached for the soap next to them and filled his hand with the white liquid, involving them in an amazing scent of vanilla. Amelia's smell, the smell he loved so much to breathe out of her when she got out of the shower simply drove him crazy with desire.

Owen kept his hands busy rubbing the soap on the full length of her body, letting the water wash it away moments later. He splayed his hand on her flat stomach, bringing her against him one more time. Her porcelain white skin felt smooth and soft against his touch, just as it always had been.

Amelia turned around to face him, and proceeded to fill her hands with the soap, to splash it on his shoulders and neck. Owen captured her lips with his own, on another breathtaking kiss. As his tongue invaded her mouth, Amelia's hands traveled from his shoulders through his stomach, to finally meet each side of his narrow hips. Owen broke the kiss to look her in the eye, capturing her face with his hands.

Stimulated by his obvious arousal, Amelia cupped his butt cheeks with her hands, feeling him hard against her stomach. She moaned with pleasure and joy when he gently bit her lower lip.

"I love big butts and I cannot lie" she slowly recited, making them both laugh "but also, I love it that your butt isn't the only big thing about you" she kissed his open palm but looked down at him suggestively.

Owen noticed the mischievous look on her face and firmly pulled her up, crushing her against the wall with his body. Amelia felt the stingy contrast of the cold bathroom tiles against her warm back but that had a booster effect on her desire. Wrapping her legs around Owen's hips, she clung to him noticing the little droplets that traveled through his chest.

"You little witch" Owen smiled against her lips "Open your eyes, babe. I want you. I can't wait any longer"

Amelia opened her eyes to find Owen's blue ones staring at her, invitingly.

"Yes" she demanded, and it was all encouragement Owen needed.

He splayed her arms on the bathroom tiles, covering their length with his own. His hard erection meet Amelia's wet opening. With one slow thrust, Owen drove full length inside of her, alternating slow and fast strokes.

Amelia's legs felt weak and she felt like she was about to lose balance. Owen seemed to notice because his hands traveled to her buttocks, cupping them, holding her up against his body.

"Let's go to bed" He decided, seeing Amelia was drowned in desire but had been put in an uncomfortable position.

He turned off the shower and let her slide against his body, which protested the loss of contact with his. Owen then grabbed a huge fluffy towel and wrapped her in it, taking another one to dry himself.

When he left the bathroom, Amelia was already laying on the bed, her naked body eagerly waiting to welcome him. Owen couldn't help himself at the sight of his naked wife and tossed the towel aside, moving to the top of her. She was delicious and Owen kissed all the water droplets on her neck and shoulders.

Amelia opened her legs beneath him, feeling Owen's manhood against her own center of pleasure. She moaned when he teased her with his hips, loving the sensation of being crushed by the weight of his manly muscular body.

"You are so hot" Amelia whispered, involuntarily "Owen, I want you..."

Owen moved inside of her, this time taking her with him. Amelia's delicate body was soft and wet and he struck her harder while she whispered in his ear how much she wanted him.

The first scream of pleasure came from Amelia's mouth, when she lost control of her legs and lower abdomen, feeling her body convulse with pleasure as she reached an orgasm. Owen followed her, spilling himself inside of her, kissing every inch of her swollen lips on the process until they both had to stop to catch some air.

Amelia stayed put, recovering from the amazing ecstasy while she drew circles on Owen's back with her fingernails. He remained on top of her, catching his breath until he finally nestled his head on the curve of her breasts.

His beard tickled her and Amelia moved her hands from his back to his head, caressing his cheek lightly while her other hand ran through his ginger hair. Still cradled by her arms and legs, Owen relaxed feeling her heart beating against the side of his face.

"This was pretty great" Amelia commented, regaining her strength to speak.

"Yes" Owen agreed, slowly dozing off.

"Babe let's put on some clothes before we fall asleep here like this."

"Nooo" Owen protested, unwilling to leave the comfort and warmth of her body, but Amelia's stubbornness eventually won him over.

Once they both got inside their pajamas, Owen turned off the lights, joining her in bed, blissfully unaware of all the events of that day.

But when Amelia woke up to make breakfast the following morning, she noticed the abandoned gym bag on the living room floor. Deciding it was better to sort all the dirty laundry before it stayed there for a full week, she opened the bag and something caught her eye. Amidst deodorants, training shirts and a towel, there was a yellow envelope with fancy printed letters on it. It was in Owen's name and apparently had come from an important law office.

Realizing it most definitely had something to do with Owen's bad mood during dinner the previous night, Amelia couldn't help her curiosity and started reading through the paper sheets.

When she finally finish them, she looked up at the bottom of the stairs between the kitchen and the living room, only to find Owen standing there with a scared, puzzled look on his face. He looked embarrassed, guilty and his mouth didn't try to speak when she waited for an explanation.

Her heart felt stabbed and cut into a million pieces when Amelia reached the obvious conclusion and bravely asked, fighting against the tears that formed in her eyes:

"Owen... Have you been cheating on me?"

Thanks to all the people who've taken their times to write some feedback. Every author knows the importance of that to keep us going and we do really appreciate it very much.


	5. Chapter 5

Here's the newest chapter of this angsty, fluffy, romantic, smutty, everything family fic. Thanks a lot to Morgan ( mo-de-pablo) for your amazing help with proofreading. I really am grateful.

My Boys – Chapter 5

" _What?_ "That was the only thing Owen was able to say when Amelia confronted him about the documents in her hand.

"Owen," Amelia's voice was low, unusually calm and filled with hurt. She couldn't help the feeling she had been betrayed "What is this?" She looked to the paper in her hand and then again to his eyes. "You're being sued for _sexual harassment_ at work?!"

The disappointment in her voice was more than Owen could tolerate. Amelia had looked at a piece of paper and was already jumping to conclusions without even giving him a chance to say anything. He started to feel anger building up within his chest.

"Why were you looking through my stuff?" He strode towards her and, without his usual gentleness, blatantly took the documents off her hands.

Amelia couldn't believe that he was going _there._

"Why, are you keeping secrets from me now?" He was silent. "I guess you are," Amelia figured, and she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. With a mix of hurt, anger, and fear, she proceeded, "I was going through your gym bag because you left it there yesterday and I wanted to make sure there was no dirty laundry. I wasn't _spying_ on you, or trying to invade your privacy, but you never had a problem with anything like this in the past so it's obvious something has changed."

"I was going to tell you," Owen said desperately. "I just didn't have a chance to-"

"You didn't have a chance?" Amelia's anger surpassed all the other feelings in her heart and she exploded in fits of pain, interrupting him. "We were here together yesterday for God knows how long. You could have told me, Owen!"

"Amelia, I-"

"You could have told me right when you got home!" She interrupted him again. "You could have told me after I said I booked our trip, or after we put the kids to bed," she backed out from his touch when Owen tried to reach her, "you could have even told me when you came home from your game and took me upstairs and made love to me. How could you, Owen? I asked you a million times what was wrong and you didn't tell me. Why?"

Her voice was a desperate plea, a powerful source of hope that she might be wrong about his break of trust, but Amelia couldn't think of any reason why Owen would try to hide that from her unless he was guilty of something. They always shared everything with each other, not out of obligation, but because they felt comfortable around one other. She didn't know why this time it would be different.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you would freak out!" Owen's voice burst from his chest, angered by the attack the one person he trusted the most had unleashed on him and by how easily Amelia jumped to conclusions without giving him the benefit of the doubt. "You always freak out about every little thing, Amelia, and you make a thunderstorm out of everything that _might_ happen, because you can never believe that things will simply work out!" He raised his voice and proceeded, "I didn't tell you because you would act like I am already guilty of something without even asking, which is exactly what you're doing right now!"

"What do you mean I never believe things will work out? Are you talking about what happened with Thomas? Are you really throwing that in my face?" Amelia's disbelief was written all over her face and she had never been angrier with Owen than she was at that moment.

"No, I don't mean _that,_ " Owen instantly regretted his choice of words, but it was already too late and he was too mad at her to apologize or explain.

"I never thought you would go that low, Owen," Amelia couldn't control her tears anymore. The old her, the tough Amelia who could shut off her emotions, had never needed to make an appearance in the last seven years, but the new Amelia needed her old self in that moment, and she was having a hard time finding her. She was a different person, who gave room to her feelings and tried to overcome them rather than pretend they didn't exist. She didn't know exactly when she had become _that_ person, but the truth was, she didn't know how to turn it off. "I can't believe you could do something like this" She looked at the document in his hand suggestively.

"Oh, so now you think I've actually harassed someone?!" Owen closed their distance and stared at her, his blue eyes burning with anger.

"I don't th-"

"Momma, what's going on?" At the sound of their eldest son's voice, both adults turned towards the staircase and saw Lucas standing at the top, his wrinkled pajamas and sleepy eyes revealing that he had just been woken up. "Why are you fighting?"

Lucas had never seen their parents arguing before and the scene scared the hell out of him.

"It's ok, buddy, nothing is going on, we were just talking," Owen lied and let Amelia go to the kitchen so their son wouldn't see she'd been crying. "Come on, let's go wake up your brothers and get ready for school."

Owen didn't hear another word for the duration of breakfast. Amelia's eyes were puffy and red, but she tried to keep a smile on her face in front of the boys like nothing was wrong, and when time came to take them to school, she kissed Lucas and Thomas goodbye and handed both boys their backpacks and lunch bags, telling them their dad would drive them to school because she needed to take the twins to daycare. That's how Owen knew they would take separate cars to work that day.

During the whole morning in the hospital, Owen didn't see her. She was supposed to be up in surgery, but Amelia had delegated her morning duties over to Edwards. Instead, she was in an on call room, accompanied only by Maggie.

"I can't believe Owen would do anything like this!" Maggie exclaimed after Amelia was done telling her about that morning.

"You mean cheat on me, get sued, not tell me about it or simply be mean to my face?" Amelia asked, and Maggie could see the hurt in her eyes.

"Amelia," Maggie started, reasonably, "Owen loves you. He wouldn't cheat on you, I can't imagine him doing something like this. I am sure this is all just a big misunderstanding."

"Maggie, he didn't tell me!" Amelia tried to reason but her emotions were getting in her way. "If all this is just a big misunderstanding, why didn't he tell me?"

Maggie knew how difficult Amelia could be sometimes, especially when she felt attacked or hurt. But she didn't want fight with Amelia. She was more concerned with offering support and trying to make her explosive sister see things with reason.

"He probably didn't want to worry you. You guys have had it pretty rough the last couple of weeks and he might have thought it wasn't a good time to burden you with this before he could-"

"We are a team, Maggie!" Amelia burst out, frowning and pacing back and forth again, "or at least we were one. I'm not really sure what we are right now. Point is, Owen never hid anything like this from me before and there's gotta be a reason he's doing it for the first time!"

"Maybe you're overreacting a little?" Maggie tried to be careful, knowing how sensible Amelia was on the subject. "Why don't you sit down, take a deep breath and talk to him? Like an adult?"

"He didn't have an explanation, Maggie. I asked him multiple times yesterday what was wrong and he didn't tell me, then this morning I found out about this, accused him of things I probably shouldn't have, and he didn't have the decency to deny it."

"Amelia," Maggie tried her best to put sense into her sister's head, "do you honestly, I mean _honestly,_ believe Owen could be cheating on you?"

Amelia thought about it for a while, her aching heart getting in the way of her thinking. It hurt too much to think of that as a possibility but Amelia couldn't quite discard it. The fact Owen hadn't immediately denied it was freaking her out.

"I don't want to believe that, but at the same time I can't stop wondering why someone would go through the trouble of filing a lawsuit if they didn't have a reason?" Amelia pondered, desperately. "I mean, can you really misunderstand if you've been harassed or not?"

"Did you read the briefing?" Maggie asked, handling her coffee cup "Did you see what the law suit was about?"

"Some ER nurse claims Owen insulted her by saying things with inappropriate sexual content and then touching her when they were alone in an exam room."

"Owen is the most uptight guy I know" Maggie remembered her sister. "I've known him for years and never in my life have I heard him telling any kind of dirty joke or making any snarky comment with sexual content. He has always been respectful, especially towards patients and colleagues. I am not sure what he is like when it's just the two of you…"

"He can be pretty dirty sometimes" Amelia forgot about what they were discussing for a while and grinned, wandering far in her memories.

"But Owen has always had an impeccable conduct at work. Everyone at the hospital respects and adores him. A lot of people often say they want him back as chief. As far as we know, Owen hasn't done anything," Maggie tried to be supportive of Amelia but at the same time, she had a hard time believing Owen could actually be up to something. She had known the guy for years now and had always admired his relationship with Amelia.

"Yeah, you are right about that," Amelia gave in.

"Listen," Maggie started, trying to reason with her distressed sister, "you and Owen are a very steady couple. You guys have a solid relationship and more than that, you're both happy in your marriage. Everyone around here sees that" Maggie pointed to their surroundings. "People know how intimate and annoyingly happy you both are and some hold a grudge based on that. Some are mean, and deceptive and just plain jealous, Amelia. They can't have what you two have so instead of trying to find it, they try to destroy what's yours. Don't let them. You have always been a fighter, especially when it comes to Owen. I can't see why now you're fighting against him, and not for him. He needs you by his side, now more than ever. Just talk to him and sort things out. Whatever this is, I am sure you will feel much better after you listen to him."

Amelia watched as Maggie left the room to go back to her duties. She spent all afternoon thinking about what her sister had just said. Once the majority of her anger had vanished, Amelia calmly analyzed the facts in her mind.

Owen had been sued for sexual harassment and hadn't told her. Maybe he had actually screwed up and was hiding it from her, but maybe he was actually trying to spare her. Or maybe he was just plain embarrassed. They usually didn't hide things from each other, especially things as serious as a lawsuit, but she had always known Owen sometimes took a while to digest things before he could deal with them and talk about them. Maybe this was one of those times.

The more she thought about it, the more guilt consumed her.

She had found the papers and had quickly jumped to her own conclusions without even giving Owen a chance to actually tell her what had happened. The possibility of her husband cheating had left her so nervous and desperate that she had acted like a crazy person, pointing fingers at him and accusing him of not siding with her when she had done the same by denying him the chance to come to her and get her support.

Amelia thought about the previous night, when they had played together with their sons and then when Owen had come home and made love passionately to her. He was her foundation, her source of security and stability, and she had always felt protected because she knew that no matter what, Owen would be there and she could count on him. When confronted by the slightest possibility that Owen might be breaking her trust and devoted loyalty, Amelia had freaked out in desperation. She loved what they had, their family and their bond, and Owen had never given her reason to think he felt otherwise.

Amelia needed to apologize. She needed to see him and let him talk to her, to let him know he could count on her the same way she had always known she could count on him. She still felt a bit uneasy about the whole harassment matter, but she was sure Owen had a good explanation for that too. All she needed to do was to listen.

Later that day, she was at home with the boys waiting for him to get home when she felt her cell phone buzzing. It was a message from him, letting her know he would cover the night shift at the hospital.

Disappointed and worried, Amelia tried to call him several times, but his phone was going straight to voicemail. She thought about driving to the hospital to force him into a conversation, but she was alone with four small children and there was no way she could leave them at home by themselves or call Evelyn or Maggie so late at night without making a big fuss about a situation that was already bad enough.

The following morning Amelia dropped the kids off at school and daycare and went straight to the ER when she entered the hospital. Owen was nowhere to be found but she decided to ask April, who was sitting updating charts at the nurses' station.

"Hi, April."

April could tell Amelia had something going on. She was lacking her usual easy smile and she could see that Amelia obviously hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.

"Hey Amelia, busy morning?" April asked casually.

"Not really," Amelia skipped the small talk and went straight to what mattered. "Have you seen Owen around? I need to talk to him."

"Amelia," April's voice was stern and she lowered her tone so one around could hear him, "it's this morning. The meeting with the lawyers about the lawsuit?" April asked as it had become obvious on Amelia's expression the neurosurgeon had no idea what she'd been talking about. "Owen went upstairs to meet with the team of lawyers and the plaintiff a few minutes ago."

The shock on Amelia's face let April know her best friend's wife had been oblivious to the fact up until now. She knew by Owen's horrible mood the past day that he and Amelia were not on the best of terms at the moment, but after asking him twice about it with no concrete answer, she had given and let him be. Owen had always been a very private person and he had a hard time opening up, even to his best friends. All April knew was that one of the nurses had filed a lawsuit against him and he had asked for her discretion, which was the least April thought she could do.

"Do you know which room they're in?" Amelia asked, biting her lower lip anxiously. Her husband was going through something huge and she couldn't even show her support because she had pushed him away before they had the chance to talk.

"I'm sorry, Amelia, I honestly don't."

Feeling worse than she already had, Amelia took the elevator to the 5th floor and wandered around the corridors, checking which meeting rooms were available and which ones were taken. After pacing back and forth for nearly half an hour, she heard one of the doors open at the end of the hall and saw an angry woman rushing out of it, closely followed by a young man wearing a suit, and behind them, Owen and one of the hospital lawyers talking in a low voice.

When Owen saw her, he said a few more words to the lawyer and dismissed the man, heading toward his wife.

"Not now, Amelia," he stated, sounding very serious as he walked right past her.

Amelia rarely heard Owen use that tone of voice with her. It was very intimidating. But she couldn't just stand aside like she had for the past days, so she ran to catch up with him.

"Owen, please, just listen to me. I want to talk to you."

"Oh, now you want to talk?" He turned around to face her, his hands on his white coat pockets, his blue eyes sparkling with silent fury. She had no idea what had gone on inside the room and what was going on in his mind, and apparently, he wasn't willing to share it anytime soon. "I will see you at home. We'll talk then." Owen gave his final word and got inside the elevator, immediately closing the door without giving Amelia the chance to follow.

With no option in sight, Amelia powered throught the rest of her surgeries, thinking of everything that had happened. She picked up the boys when she learned Owen was going to be late again, and took them home.

That night after they had gotten home, Lucas and Thomas noticed how upset their mom looked and did everything in their power to cheer her up.

"When is dad going to be home?" Lucas asked after his drawing hadn't been able to get more than a discreet smile out of his mother.

"He will be a little late today, honey," Amelia answered, figuring Owen would delay his arrival at home as much as possible to avoid her.

"Are you sad because you miss him, momma?" Thomas innocently asked. "It's okay, I am sure he is coming home soon."

Amelia felt her heart sink when she realized her sons were trying to comfort her.

"Dad always makes everything better, mom," Lucas told her gently, jumping to her lap when one of the twins vacated it to go after a toy.

"You're right, baby," Amelia wrapped Lucas in her arms and touched her chin to his head. "He sure does."

They were in Thomas and Lucas's room, sitting on the floor surrounded by toys, crayons and books. It was almost 8pm, and all boys were already fed and in their comfortable pajamas. Amelia hadn't put them to bed yet because she knew they missed Owen and had wanted to see if he would be home to at least give them a goodnight hug before bedtime.

Just as they were talking, Owen arrived home and figured Amelia must be putting the boys to bed due to how quiet it was around the house. He stripped off his jacket and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, letting out a heavy sigh. His throbbing headache hadn't given him a break the entire day and he felt tired due to the lack of sleep. But mostly, he felt disappointed and unfairly attacked by the way Amelia had treated him and the way she had found out about the horrible situation he had been put in.

He didn't want to talk to her but he couldn't avoid her any longer. Slowly, he made his way upstairs and noticed the light was on the boys' room. The door was opened and he could hear their voices.

"Momma, are you mad at dad?" Lucas asked, sounding concerned.

"No, honey, I am not," she replied and Owen heard the sound of wheelie cars being pushed around, "but mommy was worried and she said a lot of mean things to dad, which made him very sad too. It was very wrong and mommy is upset because she hasn't had a chance to apologize to dad yet."

"You can use my crayons to draw him something beautiful so he knows you are very sorry," Thomas suggested, with contagious hope.

"You are a sweetheart," Owen heard Amelia moving inside the room while talking to their son. "I am sure daddy would love that. Come on, let's get you boys to bed."

Owen chose that moment to go inside the room. The boys were thrilled at his appearance and he saw on Amelia's face she was surprised to see him there. He wanted to be mad at her and keep being angry for what she had said and done to him but after that emotional and humble admission she had made to their children, not knowing he'd been able to listen, for the first time in those two horrible days he thought they could go back to being okay.

Owen knew he had his share of guilt too; he just couldn't deal with Amelia acting the way she did. He took the twins to their room and read them a story before turning off the lights after they fell asleep.

He knew he would have to talk to her now and he breathed in and out deeply, preparing himself mentally for the next battle he was about to endure.

So Owen and Amelia are at odds with each other and this is not going to be an easy fix. I anticipate a confrontation for chapter 6 (which is already written!); Stay tuned for more and don't forget to leave some feedback! : )


	6. Chapter 6

My Boys – Chapter 6

After putting the twins to bed, Owen took a shower and after he had finished, he headed downstairs knowing at some point he would have to face his wife about the previous week's events.

As Owen approached the kitchen, he could hear Amelia walking around making noises. She was always like that when she was anxious, and Owen knew she was probably hating the situation they found themselves in just as much as he was.

"Hey," Amelia saw him come down the stairs and enter the kitchen, "Are you hungry? I saved you a plate. I can put it on the microwave if you'd like."

"Thanks, but I got it." Owen walked past her and opened the fridge, looking for the plate. He had barely eaten the past two days and it was adding to his already sour mood.

"Owen, I-"

"Listen, Amelia, can we just not do this?" He turned around to face her and let out a heavy sigh, "I am exhausted, I have been awake for nearly thirty six hours and I really don't feel like fighting with you right now."

"We don't have to fight!" Amelia blurted out, feeling hurt by his lack of interest, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I am, Owen." She took a step closer in his direction, but Owen turned around, facing the microwave instead.

"I know you are," Owen said with his back turned to her, "I am too. But I'm just… I'm still too mad at you, Amelia. I know I will end up saying things you don't want to hear. Let's just not, ok?"

Owen grabbed his plate from the microwave and headed toward the living room, leaving Amelia alone in the kitchen. With not much of an option other than to retreat, Amelia went upstairs to their room. She did want to have a conversation with him, but if she pushed it, things might get worse. And if there was one thing she'd learned over the years in her marriage, it was that with Owen, a no always meant no.

After about an hour, she felt the weight of his body collapsing on the other side of the mattress. With the room enveloped in darkness, she couldn't see anything, but she turned to face the wall opposite to him, her pride not allowing her to risk letting him see she'd been silently crying. She couldn't remember the last time they had gone to bed without touching, or wishing a simple "good night". At that very moment the gravity of the situation finally hit her and she realized how badly they had really hurt each other.

For a good few minutes, she felt him move on the bed, apparently unable to find a good position to fall asleep. After what felt like hours later, she was just about to finally rest her eyes when a sudden movement on the bed alarmed her. A small pair of cold hands searched for her own beneath the covers.

One of the boys had crawled into their bed in the middle of the night, between his parents.

"Luke, is that you?" Amelia asked in the darkness of the room, unsure whether it had been Lucas or Thomas "What happened?"

"I had a bad dream, mommy," Lucas's voice was barely a whisper "Can I sleep here tonight?"

"Sure, buddy," Owen spoke for the first time, ruffling his son's hair to let him know he was awake and listening too.

Lucas quickly made himself comfortable between his mom and dad, hogging the covers and taking up more space than his body required. When he had finally stopped moving and Amelia had thought he'd finally fallen asleep, she felt his hand reaching for hers.

Allowing the boy to hold it, she was startled when he placed it over the covers on the top of his stomach, doing the same to Owen's. He didn't relax until he made sure his parents were holding hands and only when he was sure none of them were pulling back, Lucas finally allowed himself to fall asleep.

Amelia lay there, controlling her breath quietly, certain that Owen would pull his hand off the minute he felt Lucas had dozed off, but to her surprise, she felt him turn sideways in her direction and intertwine his fingers with hers.

Amelia hardened the grip on his hand and before she could think, she turned to his direction, searching for his eyes.

Owen found hers and despite the darkness, he noticed she was holding back her tears.

"I'm sorry," Amelia whispered, hopelessly. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I love you."

Owen moved gently above Lucas's head, his free hand finding the top of her head in the darkness. He stroked her hair gently, believing that she hadn't intentionally meant to stir up a fight between them.

"You drive me crazy when you don't listen," he explained, moving his head closer to hers, whispering in the dark "Where the hell did you get the idea I would ever cheat on you?" Owen wiped the unshed tears in her eyes with his thumb. "You're the freaking love of my life and damn it, Amelia, how can you still not know that?" He asked very seriously.

Amelia couldn't hold back the tears anymore and doing her best to be silent, she approached Owen, moving on the bed so that she would be as close to him as possible without waking up Lucas.

"I freaked out because I was afraid I'd lose _u_ s," she whispered, trying to make sense in her whirlwind of emotions "I shouldn't have doubted you and I shouldn't have told you off without giving you the chance to talk to me. Owen, what happened? Why are you being sued?"

"I found out about it yesterday morning," Owen held his head with one hand, propping an elbow on the bed so he could be facing her, "Some guy delivered the file to me and I was appalled, of course. There's some nurse who worked with us for a couple of months in the beginning of the year claiming I tried to jump her in a consult room… I didn't believe it at first, I thought it might be a prank or something, but when I realized it wasn't, I started thinking about everything that could go wrong, how it might cause problems for us, the possibility of losing my license to practice..." Owen took a deep breath, recalling his current situation "But I didn't want to worry until I had straight facts. So I brought the envelope home on Monday and took it to the basketball game to have the lawyers I play with take a look, see what they thought about it. That's why you found the documents there." He explained, looking deeply into Amelia's eyes "I didn't tell you about it before because I had a scheduled meeting with the hospital lawyers who will represent me on the same morning you found the files. I wasn't hiding it from you, babe. I was just waiting to know more so I could tell you the facts, not assumptions."

"You didn't have to keep it to yourself, Owen. You could have told me, you know that. You can share your worries with me," Amelia caressed his cheek. Owen's head turned lightly and he kissed the palm of her hand.

"I wanted to see you happy. You were so happy about the trip; I didn't want to spoil it for you. But I don't know how this is going to go, I don't know if I'll have to go testify and I am not sure I can leave the city before all of this is over."

"We can reschedule, we can do something else. I don't care. Just please tell me you got good news today from the lawyers?"

"I met with them again today and also with the woman who's suing me. She is lying, Amelia," Owen grabbed the hand that was on his face and pressed it harder against his skin. "You believe me, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Amelia assured him, and she meant it. "But babe, I am trying to understand here. Why would she do something like that? Why would she think you harassed her? I don't get it."

"I don't know," Owen answered honestly, "I have no idea, and the worst part is that she doesn't sound like a crazy person at all. She very emphatically told the lawyers today what I supposedly tried to do to her, when I barely remember this woman at all. She's either a sociopath, or a very good actress."

"This is not right," Amelia focused, "she has to prove you did it, and how can she do that? She can't!" Amelia started to feel anger building up inside her but Owen's voice quickly restored her calmness.

"I am not worried about that," he said honestly, "I know I didn't do anything, and therefore she can't prove I did. I have a clear conscience." He stated matter-of-factly. "What concerns me though is having our family exposed like this. It's putting us through this situation. Especially you. We work in the same place, if this goes public people will start to judge and…"

"We're gonna get through this," Amelia reassured him, caressing his cheek with her thumb, "Soon, this is all gonna be just a bad memory and we will go back to our normal lives."

Owen stretched and gave her lips a quick kiss.

"Babe, I am sorry you had to think I didn't trust you," he felt it was his time to apologize, "I trust you with all my heart. You're part of my team, remember?" Owen smiled at her, letting out a small laugh when he saw Amelia smiling too.

"I am," She confirmed it, feeling emotional, "I know I overreact sometimes but it's just that… Well, you know I'm not close to my mother and sisters. You and Maggie are all the family I have and this means the world to me, Owen," she pointed at them, "you and the boys are my whole existence and the slightest thought of this world collapsing drove me over the edge and I said absurd things instead of asking you what was going on. You needed my support and I failed you, I know-"

"It's over now, don't beat yourself up over it," Owen took his index fingers to her lips, forcing her to stop talking. "We are gonna get through this," he repeated her words, resting his head on the pillow as she did the same.

Amelia lied with her stomach down, wrapped one arm around Lucas's body and offered her other hand to Owen. He hold it firmly right it above their heads.

"I hate it when we fight," she blurted out.

"Me too."

"Let's never fight again" She decided, already half asleep.

"Deal," Owen agreed, even though he knew that there would be plenty of fights in their future.

"You're my favorite person in the world."

Owen chuckled at Amelia's blunt confession. She was his too. He rubbed his thumb on her hand gently, acknowledging her compliment.

"Amelia?"

"Yes?"

"I love you too."

The following morning, Amelia was up before everyone else, as usual, and she ran downstairs to get things ready for the day. She was almost done with breakfast when she heard all her boys coming down the stairs: first Thomas, then Lucas and finally Owen, carrying one twin in each arm.

"Good morning, mommy," Owen said out loud to encourage the boys to say it.

They happily obliged and took their seats in the table, still yawning.

"I sliced you guys some fruit this morning because I have a feeling today is gonna be a good day and I wanted to kick it off with some happiness," she confessed with her usual contagious joy, placing six bowls of colorful sliced fruits in front of them.

Robbie and Danny quickly stuffed their hands in their portions, making a big mess in less than five seconds. Amelia let them feel the food with their hands and eat it while she grabbed small plastic forks for Thomas and Lucas.

When she approached the table, Owen grabbed her by the hips and instead of letting her take her seat, he sat her on his lap, wrapping one arm around her as he watched his wife help his older children with breakfast.

"Time for us to go, now," he said as he noticed it was half past seven, "I already put some coffee to go. You start the car while I clear the table."

"Ok," Amelia held Robbie's and Danny's hands as Lucas and Thomas followed her to the car.

After they dropped off the kids, Amelia remembered, "You know, I don't think Lucas had a bad dream last night." She was pretty sure she was right. "I think he knew we weren't ok and he was distressed by it."

"I think so too," Owen agreed, "It's good to know that when we're both too stubborn to talk, there's someone who's even more stubborn to have us make peace."

Amelia laughed at the thought of her five year old being a key factor in her making up with Owen.

"He will make a fine soldier someday," Owen commented.

"Don't. Even." Amelia commanded, giving Owen her bossiest look, making him laugh at her.

Thank God everything was back to normal between them.

During the following week, Owen had to attend several meetings with the hospital lawyers and conciliators. When he refused to take a deal with the plaintiff, his lawyers informed him that the case would drag even longer, but Owen refused to settle about something he wasn't guilty of. Amelia supported his decision and a week later, they gathered enough evidence to make the former ER nurse drop her case.

Apparently, the woman was having a hard time keeping a steady job and after being fired from Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital for malpractice, she had become desperate for money, turning to desperate measures like claiming a false sexual harassment charge. Owen's lawyers had done their homework and found out she had filed lawsuits in two other states with the same claims. After collecting evidence from charts and security cameras, it had become easy to prove Owen had never really been alone in a room with her on the reported date, and after realizing she was dealing with people who could outsmart her, the hateful ex-colleague dropped her case.

After a while, Owen found out by another ER employee that the woman who had sued him had in fact made several approaches to win his affections, but he had always been oblivious to it. According to Kepner, who was privy to all the gossip in the ER, Owen had been her pick because he was well known within the hospital and was a former boss. The two other doctors the same woman had sued in the past fit in the same category, and both had fallen for her scheme settling for money, afraid they'd risk their reputations. But Owen was glad he had stood his ground and even happier that he had his family supporting him through the process.

When he got the news on Friday afternoon that the lawsuit was being dropped, he felt like a heavy weight was being taken off of his shoulders. He immediately called Amelia and the happiness in her voice when she found out about it added to his own. He resumed his work in the ER, anxious to go home be with his family to celebrate it, but after a couple of hours he had a brilliant idea.

Almost three weeks ago, Amelia had asked him for the night out she had been craving for too long so they could celebrate their wedding anniversary. Thomas's surgery and the lawsuit, added to their everyday crazy scheduled, had prevented him from taking her out. But this time, they both had the weekend off, he was feeling better than he had in a long time after the news he'd received, and his mother definitely wouldn't mind having the boys for a sleepover, as she'd been bugging him for days about how missed the kids.

That evening, Owen decided, Amelia was finally getting the surprise romantic evening he had promised her. And he could hardly wait himself.


	7. Chapter 7

My Boys – Chapter 7

After lunch, Owen was paged to scrub in on a surgery for a multi-trauma patient. Despite the presence of Jackson Avery, Miranda Bailey, two residents and Amelia, they still needed a set of extra hands.

"You paged me, Bailey?" Owen asked, getting a clean gown from a scrub nurse.

"This spleen is mess, it's ruptured everywhere and I can't fix this perforated bowel until I remove the spleen, I need an extra set of hands," she explained in her usual fast pace.

Owen looked at the patient on the table, realizing it was the same guy he'd stabilized only minutes ago in the ER. The young college student had crashed his motorcycle against a bus and hit his head on the windshield before being stuck in the wreckage. He had 2nd and 3rd degree burns, internal organ damage and a subdural hematoma. Jackson and Amelia were working on him simultaneously.

"Avery, could you move a little, I need more room," Amelia demanded, as usual not taking her eyes off the field.

Owen was busy helping Bailey, but heard Avery mumble something back. The plastic surgeon was the first one to finish, followed closely by Bailey and Hunt. The damages were extensive, but they had been able to control most of it.

"Will you be long?" Owen asked his wife, as he stripped off his gown.

"Maybe a couple of hours," Amelia asked for more irrigation from her resident. "Are you done downstairs?"

"Yeah," Owen confirmed and maintained his look on her, despite her eyes focused on the field, "I'll pick up the boys and see you home later."

Amelia nodded affirmatively, moving her delicate hands with amazing skill and accuracy.

Owen gave up trying to get her attention and left her to her work, knowing nothing could take her focus away from surgery once she scrubbed in. Amelia was always so well prepared that she was hardly ever surprised when it came to her patients.

But tonight, she had no idea she was in for a hell of a surprise when she got home.

Amelia got home around 6 pm that evening. On Friday nights, she and Owen usually let the kids stay up for about an hour later than their usual bedtime, and they liked to either order pizza or make sandwiches outside, if the weather was nice. She found Owen and their sons in the living room, the boys dancing with strap-on joysticks in their hands. It was their Nintendo night, she realized.

After greeting everyone and being firmly accused of getting in Lucas's way to justify his losing to Thomas, she left the boys to play and was closely followed to the kitchen by Robbie, who pulled on her dark jeans until she finally picked him up.

"Did you have a good time at the daycare, today?" She asked the toddler with a sweeter voice. "Momma is gonna be home all weekend with you guys and I plan on covering you all with lots and lots of kisses." She attacked his neck and pink cheeks with tickling kisses, making the boy giggle.

"Momma, open cookies," the boy pointed to the box on the top shelf of the cabinet Amelia had just opened. Amelia was amazed at how quickly they could spot food, especially the ones they liked better.

"Ok, but just one because you're gonna have dinner in about an hour and I don't want you to spoil your appetite," she said like that was a real possibility.

She placed Robbie on her left hip and used her right hand to try and get the cookies but she couldn't reach them. She was about to put Robbie on the floor and grab a chair to climb on when Owen came from behind her and easily reached the box.

"You put it stuff there on purpose, don't you?" She provoked, trying to sound angry but failing.

"Not my fault you've the size of a ten year old."

"That's not even accurate," Amelia turned to him as Owen left the kitchen with the box of cookies, after giving one to Robbie. She was much taller than a ten year old.

"Well in my family, it is" Owen replied from the living room. On a second thought, judging by their sons' growth rate, Amelia didn't doubt they might actually overgrow her anytime soon.

"Don't take all those toys from the chest, Danny!" She followed Owen to the couch and put Robbie on the ground, next to Danny and their father, who was now sitting on the floor with his back leaned on the opposite couch. "You guys will get ready for bed soon."

"I forgot to tell you, my mom is gonna come pick them up," Owen mentioned, getting another handful from the box.

"She is?" Amelia asked in honest surprise.

"Yep," Owen looked at with a mischievous look and pointed to four tidy overnight backpacks lined on the dinner table across the living room, "She will be here any second now."

"But she's taking them for the night?" Amelia couldn't quite believe it. "Does that mean we'll have the night to ourselves?!"

"Yes, babe," Owen smiled as realization hit her, adding to her smile, "It means I expect to have you dressed up and wearing makeup and everything else you planned, because tonight we are going out on a date."

Amelia flew from the couch to the floor where he was sitting, wrapping both hands around his neck and knocking him down on the floor. Owen smiled as she stayed sitting on top of him, knees propped on each side of his body. "I will keep my side of the bargain with the date and you keep yours," he said with a naughty smile on the corner of his lips, referring to the long night of lovemaking Amelia had promised him weeks ago.

Thomas and Lucas noticed their father was lying on the living room rug while their mom talked enthusiastically to him. Never missing a chance to join the fun, both boys dropped the joysticks and ran to their directions, climbing on top of Owen as Amelia had done.

"You guys are so not delicate," Owen commented when Lucas sat on his chest and Thomas stopped him from sitting up.

"Well, blame yourself for constantly playing warriors and knights with them," Amelia teased him and they heard a loud ring coming from the door bell, "I'll get it."

She got up, allowing Owen to do the same, and welcomed her mother in law with a tight hug.

"Are you sure you're up for this, Evelyn?" She checked one more time, knowing the four boys together could be a piece of work.

"Don't mind me," Evelyn assured her, "They know they have to behave very well when they're under my watch, don't you boys?" Owen's mother asked with a smile despite her authoritative voice.

The four of them hugged their parents goodbye and Amelia felt a sting of sadness to see them go. Evelyn was a dedicated grandmother, she knew how to be strict and keep the boys in line and they liked her very much, especially because whenever she was around, they had her undivided attention.

Evelyn took Amelia's car so she could sit all four boys in their appropriate car seats, and Amelia watched the twins waving goodbye from the window until the car took the turn out of their neighborhood.

"I can't believe this!" Amelia hugged Owen from behind, burying her face on his back while she ran her hands on his stomach and chest. "What's the plan, are going out? Staying in? Should I go get dressed?"

"Yes," Owen opened his arm and caught her to his embrace. "Go and look your very best for me tonight," he teased her, with anticipation. "We'll leave in about an hour."

"An hour and a half." Amelia smiled with her lips pressed to his, before breaking the kiss and running upstairs to get dressed.

Owen was ready in ten minutes, pulling from the closet a pair of black slacks, a light blue button shirt and a matching suit jacket that was well fitted on his broad shoulders. Then he grabbed the book he was reading from the night stand and took it downstairs, predicting Amelia would take her time.

He was absolutely right. Amelia got in the shower and quickly washed her hair, to then blow dry it at the same time she waxed her legs. When she was done, she applied a light makeup and her signature perfume, and then locked the bedroom door, preventing Owen from coming in while she got dressed.

He had definitely surprised her, but she would also surprise him. From the bottom drawer of her closet, she took a bag with black lingerie. She had bought and washed them a while ago, but had decided to keep them as a surprise for a special occasion. Tonight it felt like the perfect night to wear her sexiest underwear.

She wasted no time and chose her dress and heels, going downstairs as soon as she had finished putting them on.

"Babe, can you fasten this zipper for me, please?"

Owen was so distracted by his reading that he never heard Amelia coming down the stairs. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw her.

Wearing a short burgundy dress with long sleeves and a low neckline, Amelia was the perfect image of temptation. Her matching heels added several inches to her height, bringing attention to her shapely legs. It was clear on his face he had approved of her appearance.

"Whoa, you look amazing!" Owen saw the zipper on the back side of the dress she couldn't reach and slowly pulled it up, leaning in to breathe her scent as he did it. Amelia felt great being stared at that way. She wanted to be look her best for her husband and he made her feel beautiful when he devoured her with his eyes like that. "Do we really have to go out?" He teased, kissing her just below the ear.

"Yes, we do," Amelia laughed when he tickled her with his lips. "Babe, I've spent more than an hour getting dressed. You have to take me out now."

"I don't want to share you with anyone," Owen proudly looked her in the eyes and captured her lips on a long, deeper kiss. He wrapped his arms possessively around her waist and pulled her closer, feeling her small breasts being crushed against his chest. Amelia took a step back with a smile, and he was about to kiss her again when Amelia stopped him.

"We should go," she grinned as she rubbed off the pink lipstick that had brushed off on his lips.

Owen led them to the car and started the engine as Amelia familiarly placed her hand on his upper thigh, never wanting to break contact with him. She had no idea where they were going, but she liked not knowing as it made the night that much more of a surprise.

She relaxed in the car, still amazed by the events of the day. Owen drove through the city to a quiet restaurant downtown they used to go a lot right after they got married, before they had kids and still had time to go on dates. It was on the same street as their first house together, the one Owen had bought when he sold the trailer. The same house where she had proposed to him.

Amelia loved that place and her eyes sparkled when they drove past it.

"I can't believe someone else lives there now," she lamented, "It's where we began."

"Actually, we began in your brother's yard, right outside my trailer," Owen corrected her, remembering their first kiss.

"To me, we began when you held my hand at the hospital church with all the lit candles," she reminded him, searching for his hand, "that's when I knew I'd fall in love with you," she said with a sad smile, due to the memories of her long lost baby. "But what I meant is, this house is where we began our married lives. It's where we conceived Lucas and where we brought him to when we came back from the hospital… And then Tommy. It has that grape juice stain from the time we had sex on the dinner table and knocked over everything… It has the pool and the yard we loved so much…"

"I miss it too," Owen confessed, assaulted by the memories. He stopped the car and parked it close to the house so they could get a better look at the place that had once been their home.

From the outside, they saw a couple with a little girl in dark piggy tails arriving and turning on the lights.

"Someone else does live there now," Owen thought out loud.

"I hope they are as happy there as we were," Amelia rubbed his thigh. "Come on, babe, let's go before I'm not able to hold back my tears anymore."

"Alright," Owen chuckled and promptly obeyed.

They arrived at the restaurant and to their amazement, pretty much everyone that had waited on them before still worked there. The maître was so happy to see them again that he led the couple to a small booth table next to the glass windows that had an amazing view of the Seattle skyline.

Amelia was originally seated across from Owen, but the minute the waiter left them with the menus, she got up and sat by his side instead, cuddling up next to him while Owen thoroughly examined the menu.

"How come you're always so warm and cozy? It's chilly in here," she leaned on his chest after he'd wrapped one arm around her slim shoulders, bringing her closer.

"I told you to bring a jacket," Owen took his eyes off the menu and looked at her face, so close to his. He smiled when he saw the loving way she was staring at him, and kissed the tip of her nose, paying special attention to her light freckles. "I like it when you wear your hair down like this," Owen ran a hand on the back of her neck, digging his long fingers gently through the mass of the dark curls. The intimacy of his caress made Amelia shiver. He pulled her a little closer and kissed her, fast enough so it wouldn't be inappropriate in a public place, but possessively enough for Amelia to get an idea of what awaited her later that night.

"You're a good man, Owen Hunt," she said jokingly, but she did mean it. Owen descended his hand from her neck to her waist, and stopped it there, snuggling her close to him until their food arrived.

During dinner, they talked about the closing of Owen's lawsuit, the plans for their trip to Disneyworld the following month and what they should get for Lucas's sixth birthday, also coming up in the following month.

"When he asks again if he can get a dog for his birthday," Amelia warned, "you will be the one to tell him _no_ this time," she decided, "I am always the bad guy."

"Maybe we should get him a dog," Owen tried to change her mind.

"No, because it's obvious I'll be the one taking care of it."

Owen thought about it for a while, and finally agreed with a shrug of his shoulders, "Guess you have a point."

"Can we order desert now?" Amelia asked, like an eager child. She was always craving for sweets.

"Sure." He kissed the line of her neck and gently bit it before letting go of her.

After they were done with dinner, Owen drove back to their neighborhood, but none of them wanted the night to end just then. He suggested they go to the lake, getting Amelia's immediate approval.

When Owen's day had started that morning, he never imagined he would end up walking around one of Seattle's biggest lakes, holding hands with his wife while they talked about anything and everything.

"Have you ever thought about moving?" Amelia popped the question, slowly walking by his side.

"Move from Seattle?" Owen asked, one hand holding his jacket over his shoulder while his other arm was being gently tugged by Amelia's both hands "Not really. Have you?"

Amelia didn't need a lot of time to think about her answer.

"I've grown up in New York and I've lived in Boston, Baltimore, Los Angeles… But this is the only place I've been truly happy. If it's up to me, we will live here for the rest of our lives."

It made Owen really happy to hear that. His mother and other family members also lived in Seattle, and he liked being at a driving distance from them.

"I liked growing up here and I think the boys enjoy it too. It's a good city to raise kids," Owen pondered, "I think we both like the jobs we have right now, our whole life is settled here."

Amelia stopped walking and stood in front of him, crossing both arms around his torso. Owen knew she was stubborn and wouldn't admit, but he knew she was really cold, judging by the temperature of her hands. Not for the first time in their lives, he wrapped his jacket around her shoulders, smiling at how it engulfed her delicate frame.

"I can see us doing fifty more years of this," he joked, pulling her closer, watching her splay her hands on his chest over his shirt, "me telling you to bring something warmer… You not listening…" He playfully rolled his eyes at her.

Amelia smiled with genuine contentment and rested her cheek on Owen's chest, listening to his slow, steady heartbeat. The slightly cold breeze didn't bother her anymore now she was being kept warm by him, in the comfort of his arms. The view from the lake was amazing and she wished she could stay forever in the security of his embrace.

"We've had seven pretty good years, haven't we?" Amelia wrapped her hands on the small of his back, feeling the weight of his strong arms on her body, "It's been working out surprisingly well for us." She lifted her head and looked at his eyes, "Tell me you knew this was gonna work out when I asked you to marry me out of the blue."

"I didn't think we'd last two years," Owen replied, laughing along with her at his surprising honesty, "But I was willing to give it a chance because I was so deeply in love with you."

Despite her tall heels, Amelia had to stand on the tips of her toes to reach his forehead with hers. "I am glad you had faith in us."

"I _have_ faith in us," Owen assured her, "And I'm still _in_ love with you, Amelia."

Amelia didn't dare to open her eyes, as she felt one of his hands cupping her face, his thumb gently rubbing her cheek. She used his shoulders as support when she captured his lips with her own. This time, her hungry tongue seized its way in, searching for his in the depth of their kiss.

Amelia's hands embraced his neck, fingers digging deeply in the blond curls on the back of his neck, running through his thick locks. Owen shivered when her fingernails ran on his scalp, sending electric signals through his whole body.

He gently lifted her with one arm around her waist, while the other still held her face, keeping her close. As they pulled apart slowly, Owen covered her lips with gentle kisses multiple times, dedicating himself to her cheeks and neck too.

"Do you feel like going home now?" Owen asked and he didn't need to wait for her answer.

The look of desire on Amelia's face already told him all he needed to know.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey everybody, thank you SO much for the amazing feedback I've been getting with this!

I am so sorry it took me so long to update, the chapter was ready but the editing had to be delayed due to technical problems. Thankfully, it's all good now.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing and reading your feedback!

Let's do this!

 **My Boys – Chapter 8**

After their date, Own drove them home, and parked their car in the garage.

The instant he turned the key in the front door lock from the inside, Amelia jumped him, feeling his strong hands envelope her thighs and buttocks in a possessive grip.

Kissing her passionately, Owen moved them to the living room couch, where he crashed with her on top of him. He shifted skillfully, forcing her straddle him with her firm legs.

"If a man zips it," he joked, running his fingers to the sewing of her dress, "He has to unzip it." Owen tortured her by slowly exposing her bare skin to his touch.

With her nose slightly touching his, Amelia closed her eyes and breathed him in. Owen smelled like wood, peppermint, and home. He was her security, her comfort, her best friend in the world. The person who she trusted the most, the man who had given her four beautiful children and who was responsible for bringing an insane amount of happiness to her days and her life. She adored him with her entire heart and soul.

"I love you, babe," Amelia opened her eyes and smiled at him, kissing him on the cheek.

"I love you too," Owen rubbed his palms on her back as he watched her slowly unbutton his shirt, alternating kisses and bites on his neck, collarbone, and chest.

When Amelia reached the last button, she pulled him toward her, stripping him of his shirt and tossing it mercilessly to the ground. Owen had amazing broad shoulders and strong, masculine arms with solid muscles and a very attractive torso. She traced the lines of his body with her lips, leaving her mark on every tiny bit of his skin.

They had a fairly good and healthy sex life for a married couple, despite their busy routine and schedules. But usually, they had to resort to sneaking out to be alone together right after the children's bedtime or early in the morning, always in a rush for they never knew when the kids would wake up or demand their attention in any way. The sex was still amazing, but usually very hurried and often lasted less than they both would've liked.

Amelia couldn't remember the last time she actually had the opportunity to take her time and look at her husband during sex. To see his body and be delighted by it. To touch him, slowly and eagerly, savoring every piece of his body she could, so that her peek of pleasure could be delayed until they both had made the most of that sensual experience.

Owen watched her too, his crystal blue eyes devouring her with raw desire. Amelia recognized the look of passion on his face.

She also couldn't remember the last time they'd had sex with the lights on, and she had forgotten how exciting that could be.

Men were biologically very visual creatures and Amelia knew that. Owen protested when she left him on the couch, his naked torso and bulgy pants sending out every signal that he didn't wish to break contact with her. But when Amelia slowly started to strip her unzipped dress, he changed his expression completely, going from disappointed to fully approving.

"Amelia..." Owen moaned when she avoided his touch on purpose and got rid of the dress. Wearing a simple see-through black lace bra, matching black panties and dark heels, Amelia looked every bit as untamable as Owen knew she was.

Her ivory skin looked flawless against the black contrast of her lingerie, and Owen couldn't stand not touching her anymore. Seizing her quickly in his arms, he placed her on his lap, running his hands over the creamy skin of her stomach.

"God, you look amazing..." He had to let her know. "You are always so beautiful, but tonight you're just..." He couldn't finish his sentence because just as he spoke, Amelia interrupted him with a demanding, exciting kiss.

The sexy fabric of her lacy bra brushed again Owen's skin as she moved on top of him, sending electrical signals through his entire body. In addition to that, the gentle weight of her breasts on his chest made Owen go crazy. He unhooked her garment with experienced ease, slowly stripping it over the length of her arms.

He took his time delighting himself in simply staring at her. She was beautiful. Every piece of her was beautiful. Owen groaned in pleasure when her hands dug on his hair, bringing his face closer to her chest. His stubble brushed on the smooth skin of her breasts, driving Amelia delirious with desire.

Owen's hands slid on her spine, arching her back so she was fully exposed to his eager touch. He drew a trail of kisses from her jawline to her breasts, torturing her with anticipation. They had all the time in the world and he didn't want to rush it.

Amelia's moans of pleasure excited Owen even more, and turning her around on the couch, he pulled her legs up, placing both her feet within his reach.

Amelia opened her eyes when she felt Owen unhooking the strap on one of her heels. After he removed it, his index finger traced a line from her toes to her ankle, which he massaged with his thumbs. Amelia had no idea how relaxing and simultaneously exciting that could be. Her head fell back as she focused on the feeling. Owen saw the look of approval on her face and quickly removed her other shoe, devoting himself entirely to massaging first her feet and then her legs, slowly ascending.

Amelia didn't know how, but she ended up lying on the living room couch, her bare back against the soft cushions, while Owen tempted her alternating gentle strokes and rubs on her calves and thighs. He leaned over her and captured her lips in another kiss that left her lips swollen and void of all the lipstick she had left.

"Aren't you just amazing to look at…?" Owen whispered in her ear, nipping her lobe playfully.

Amelia smiled, feeling him partially shifting his weight from her, so he could reach his hands to the hem of her black lingerie and slowly start to strip it off of her. As he tried to, Amelia pushed him back to sitting position and got up from the couch, standing up in front of him. Owen moved to the edge of the seat and wrapped both arms around her, pulling her closer, his tongue dancing around her belly button. Amelia's hands made her familiar way around his neck and through his hair, gently scratching him.

Owen's hands squeezed her butt cheeks with force, capturing her in his embrace. Owen was tall and strong, and it felt like he took so much of the space around her that Amelia had trouble figuring out where he ended and she began. She finally let him get her rid of her underwear, standing fully exposed in front of him, her long locks of dark brown hair spilling over her breasts and shoulders.

Owen took his time looking at her, his naked wife in all her glorious form, inviting him in, smiling at him, biting her lower lip provocatively. She took both his hands and pulled him up, making him stand in front of her. Owen held her face between his hands, kissing her hungrily, exploring every bit of her lips, while Amelia quickly unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down together with his underwear.

There they stood, naked in their living room, bodies pressed together as Amelia circled his waist with her hands and stood on the tip of her toes, trying to reach him. Owen's hand descended to her hips, as he easily lifted her, making their way back to the couch where he sat. Amelia straddled him again, pushing him against the back the couch. She leaned over, holding his shoulders with each of her hands, her breasts brushing off against his chest as she kissed him again.

Owen's hands traveled from her waist to her hips and then to the inner parts of her thighs, tempting her until Amelia moved her body on his, welcoming his touch in her most sensitive part. She stopped kissing him, searching for air as Owen drove her crazy with pleasure, preparing her body to receive his.

She grabbed his head with her hands, right behind his ears, holding onto him for support as Owen continued with his gentle caress. His mouth seized hers roughly, as he moved his hips to touch hers.

Amelia felt Owen drive inside of her with one single thrust. He made her feel things she had never felt before in her life. She had had sex with other guys in the past, passionate sex even, but sex with love was something that Owen had introduced her to.

She used to make fun of him in the first few months of their marriage when he referred to it as 'making love', but once Amelia realized what being with him felt like, she started using those words too. Sex with Owen was a totally different, better experience. It was about giving and getting, about feeling loved and cherished and taken care of, all at the same time. In all those years they'd been together, she knew that Owen, aware of his size compared to hers, had always made sure he wasn't ever hurting her in any way, even when he was taking her more roughly. He was already devoted to making the experience as good for her as it was for him, and the adoration she had for him, for his gentleness and care towards her was something irreplaceable in her heart.

"I'm so into you," Amelia opened her eyes, touching her forehead to his as she slowly moved her hips in circles on top of him.

"And I'm so deep inside you," Owen replied, with a dirty grin, making Amelia chuckle while he moved faster beneath her, matching her rhythm to his.

"Hey, I'm having a moment here," Amelia playfully reprimanded him. "Don't ruin it with your whoreness."

She gave him a peck on the lips and tilted her body forward, regaining a strong rhythm as Owen moved inside her back and forth, never stopping until they both exploded in spasms of pleasure that sent electrical waves all through their bodies.

After their respective climaxes had subsided, Amelia stayed on top of him, her sweaty forehead touching his jaw as she still felt him inside of her. They took their times to recover from the amazing moments they had just shared. Amelia felt Owen's hands slowly lifting her body, keeping her pressed to him.

"Let's continue this upstairs," he said with a smile that made Amelia's heart beat faster inside her chest.

Owen took her to their bed, where he loved her over and over again, just like he had originally promised her. They only left the sheets when he took her to the shower, where they could relax together in the steamy hot water. Amelia was utterly satisfied, blissfully numbed by the amazing lovemaking, and completely happy with the turn her day had taken.

It was past midnight when she crashed on the bed beside Owen, wearing the button up shirt that matched his striped pajama pants while he lay down on the bed on his stomach, visibly worn out.

"Babe, shouldn't we call your mom and see if everything is alright with the boys?" Amelia asked, turning sideways so she could face him.

Owen had his eyes shut, but she knew he wasn't asleep yet.

"Owen!"

"What?" He asked lazily from the corner of his lips "It's almost one in the morning, babe. I am sure they're all fine."

"I am too, but I just wanna be certain," Amelia knew she made no sense but insisted anyway. "Baby, please, look at me."

Owen opened his eyes and gave her a sideways glance. It felt like Amelia's energy was never ending and sometimes he couldn't keep up with her. He broke out laughing when Amelia kept staring at him with those big eyes he loved so much and finally gave in, propping his elbows on the bed to lift his head and shoulders.

"Fine, fine, I'll text her," he picked up his cell phone from the night stand and started typing his mother a message. "I just don't know why you don't do it?"

"Because I have you to do it," Amelia joked, climbing on top of him while Owen exchanged quick words with his mother.

"She says everything is fine, they spent all evening finger painting and watching Finding Nemo and finally fell asleep a couple of hours ago."

"Did they eat their dinner?"

"Yes."

"Oh God, I love your mom," Amelia confessed honestly, feeling thankful for Evelyn and for her dedication with the kids. As she thought about it, she dedicated herself to rubbing Owen's back muscles with her palms. She could feel him relax under her touch and took the massage all the way to his shoulders. "Let's a have a barbecue tomorrow. Your mom can stay for lunch and we can invite Maggie and Andrew over, what do you think?"

"I think that's a great idea," Owen mumbled, enjoying her touch and slowly dozing off.

Amelia gave up trying to keep a conversation with him. Owen hadn't been sleeping well ever since he got the news about the lawsuit and today after finally finding out the matter was settled and having made love to her for so long, he was visibly in need of a restoring sleep.

She was pretty much sitting on his butt, one leg on each side of his body. Leaning over, Amelia kissed his temple and got up. After she turned off the lights, she snuggled next to him, sliding one arm over his torso, using his body as a pillow as she drew the covers on their bodies.

Owen couldn't believe the nightstand clock marked past 10 AM when he woke up the next day. He stretched out his arm looking for the warmth of Amelia's body but all he could find were cold sheets. He went on with his morning routine in the bathroom, skipping the part when he usually changed his clothes for the day.

Amelia was in the kitchen, engaged in taking out groceries from several bags.

"Hey, you're up!" She noticed cheerfully, stuffing soda cans inside the fridge.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Owen kissed the back of her head as he started to help her out with the groceries, loading the top shelves.

"You were sleeping so deeply, I wanted to let you rest," she explained. "I called your mom a while ago and she's coming over for lunch with the boys. Also, Maggie and Andrew are on for today."

"So you went and bought the whole market?" Owen teased, peeling off a banana. Amelia noticed his bare chest and loose pajamas pants. Owen was relaxed. He sure looked better than he had in the past few weeks.

"After I set the tables outside and cleaned the grill, yeah."

"You shouldn't have worried about that, Amelia. I would have done the work outside." Owen felt guilty he had slept while she was up and running probably since very early in the morning. "You sit back now and let me start things here in the kitchen."

"Yeah, that part is up to you," Amelia knew Owen was a much better cook and so she handed over the bags and let Owen do his magic. "Do you need me to help out? Should I chop something or-?"

"Go and relax. I'll be fine."

"Okay then," She turned around to leave but on a second thought came back towards him and held his face between her hands, "Thank you for last night, babe. I loved our dinner and I loved our time together. It was amazing. Every part of it."

Owen accepted her gratitude with a kiss and shooed her out of the kitchen.

Evelyn arrived with the boys shortly after noon and the kids quickly demanded all of Amelia's attention. She loved being able to spend free time with them. Evelyn offered to help with the cooking and when Amelia took the boys outside, they immediately started throwing around footballs and soccer balls on the grass. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and as the summer approached, the boys were able to spend much more time outdoors.

"Momma, I'm hungry. When are we having lunch?" Lucas asked, his face flushed from running around.

"We are waiting for Aunt Maggie and Uncle Andrew, but you can ask your dad for a snack until they get here."

Lucas happily did as his mother suggested and quickly came back to play with Thomas. The twins chased them around trying to hit the balls aimlessly. Once Maggie arrived, she sat on a table to talk to Amelia and Evelyn, while Andrew and Owen played football with the boys and kept an eye on the grill.

Owen glanced sideways at Amelia. She was laughing at some story his mother was telling, moving her hands around while she made a comment back, in her usual fast pace. Wearing white shorts and a baggy navy tank top, his barefoot wife looked happier than ever. The thought made Owen more satisfied than words could ever describe.

Danny and Robbie came running in his direction, and Owen picked them up at the same time, making the boys giggle at Lucas and Thomas who tried to reach them but couldn't. He saw a cell phone buzzing nonstop on the kitchen counter.

"Amelia, your phone is ringing!" He distractedly warned her, paying more attention to the twins in his arms.

Amelia excused herself from Maggie and Evelyn and rushed to get to her phone. She hoped it wasn't the hospital because she really wanted the day off, but the perplexed look on her face made Owen wonder what was happening from his distance and he left Robbie and Danny to go run after their older brothers, crossing the sliding door that separated the backyard from the kitchen.

"Hey, what is it, something wrong?"

After hanging up the phone, Amelia didn't seem so puzzled anymore. Instead, she looked irritated and slightly anxious.

"It was Nancy on the phone." she explained. "She has a conference in the city next week and apparently, she and mom are coming over to visit."

"And that's not a good thing because…?" Owen frowned, trying to read her.

"Owen," Amelia stood up in front of him, with her hands on her hips, looking very determined for someone so small. "In the eight or nine years we've been together, how many times have you seen my family?"

"Not that many," Owen replied, honestly.

"Exactly," Amelia left a heavy sigh and walked past him, towards the backyard, "And I can tell you, they're already dreading this encounter as much as I am."

Without another word, Owen watched his wife go back to his mother and Maggie's company. It had always made him happy that his mother and wife got along so well. In Maggie, Amelia saw the figure of a dear sister and in his mother, a substitute for her own. But she had her blood relatives too and for the sake of their children, it would be better if they got along well.

Thinking about what Amelia had said about her mother and sister, Owen made a decision. He would try his best to encourage Amelia to change her attitude about this visit. Maybe it was a good thing that they were coming. Maybe Carolyn would spend some time with her grandchildren and realize she would like to do it more often. And maybe by getting to know him more, they would be more inclined to visit more often and invite them to visit too.

Either way, Owen thought, they had nothing to lose.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello everybody,

Here is a faster update. This is the penultimate chapter of this story. I hope you all like it. Reviews are much appreciated. Thanks!

 **My Boys – Chapter 9**

"You're pouting."

"I'm not pouting," Amelia replied, visibly annoyed.

"You look like Robbie and Danny when I tell them they can't have cookies."

Amelia looked at her husband, trying her best to prove him wrong even though she knew he was right. She really was angry, but the smug look on his face as he read her like a book annoyed her even more.

"And you look like you're not gonna get lucky tonight."

Amelia punched her pillow, trying to soften it as she turned on the bed, lying opposite to her husband. Owen couldn't help but smile at Amelia's faulty mood. They had just gotten back from picking up her family at the airport and she was already struggling to keep a good humor. He was sitting on their bed, back resting on the soft pillows as they watched an old action movie on the TV. They hardly ever used the TV on the room but since Amelia's mother and sister were using the guest room downstairs, they felt like they should give them more privacy and avoid the living room.

Owen looked at his wife, trying not to laugh at Amelia's childish demeanor. She had turned to the other side, refusing to talk or to even look at him after he'd pointed out she was acting out without giving her mother and sister the benefit of the doubt. He could hear her repeatedly sighing, probably trying to control her tantrum.

When the movie went on a commercial break, Owen switched off the power button and pulled the covers, purposefully exposing her. Amelia turned around to protest but as she did, he captured her in a bear hug, lying on top of her just to annoy her that much more.

"Get off me!" Amelia protested vigorously, trying to push him off, but his body was encapsulating hers beneath him.

Owen laughed as she tried to resist, stretching his neck to kiss her. Amelia was trying to be serious but she couldn't when he was being insistently adorable.

"Get your fat ass off me," she joked, grabbing the collar of his shirt because that was pretty much the only movement her body could make. Owen looked at her, trying to seem offended by her playful insult, but they both burst out laughing as none of them could keep a serious look on their faces.

"You are impossible," Owen commented, his fingers running through her dark locks and capturing the back of her head.

"You are a pain in the ass," Amelia chuckled at his outraged expression when she attacked him. "You agreed with my sister when she 'casually' said this house is not big enough for us."

So there it was. Apparently, that was the reason she had been mad at him.

"Well, that's my honest opinion. I also feel we should buy a bigger house. I've told you that a couple of times before."

"Yes, but you can't side with my sister like that. Don't encourage Nancy. She'll take pride in the fact that she thinks she won something. I can already predict her sugar-coated mean comments," Amelia added with a heavy frown.

Owen moved from on top of her, shifting his weight to his side.

"Don't you think you're being a little too harsh on your sister?"

"No, I know exactly how she's gonna do this." Amelia disregarded him. "What are you doing?" She said pulling him back to her "Get back here." She forced Owen to move on top of her again, contradicting her orders to have him get off her.

"Get my ass fat back there, huh?" Owen bit her chin playfully.

"Yes!" Amelia giggled when his stubble tickled her neck.

"I thought you said I wasn't getting lucky tonight," Owen teased, letting her feel the weight of his body on hers as he captured her hands above their heads and intertwined their fingers.

"Yeah, but I never said _I_ wasn't," Amelia bit her bottom lip, unknowingly provoking him. Owen kept her hands captive on the pillows above her head, but his lips met hers with the familiar hunger he always kissed her with, and Amelia got lost as she felt her own thoughts leaving her mind, giving room only to pleasure.

Amelia was up before the alarm the following morning. It was still dark outside and she made her way downstairs, surprised to see the kitchen lights were on.

Her sister was standing next to the counter, a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Oh, hey Nancy."

"You're up early," Amelia's sister pointed out, taking a seat on a stool next to the kitchen counter. "Trouble sleeping?"

Amelia knew that while it was 6:30 AM for her, it was already 9:30 for her sister who lived in Connecticut. Nancy was probably jetlagged, seeing as she had just arrived a few hours before.

"No, I'm always up around 6," Amelia explained, "It's a school day and I have to prepare breakfast for Owen and the kids."

"Whoa, just look at you," Nancy teased her, smiling at her sister's predicament "Domestic Amy, who would have imagined? Kate is not gonna believe this when I tell her."

Despite keeping a casual light tone in a seemingly harmless conversation, Amelia knew her sister's comments weren't born out of genuine surprise, but from utter disbelief.

"I don't get your point," Amelia growled back, opening the fridge to get the milk for Danny's and Robbie's bottles.

"Amy, let's face it, who in a million years would have imagined you as the housewife type? You're actually preparing a baby bottle."

"You say it like it's a crime." Amelia closed two baby bottles and looked at her sister. "I don't see what's so alarming about this."

Amelia knew her classy sister had probably never prepared any baby bottle in her life. Even for her own kids.

"You've _really_ changed," Nancy's eyes were wide with amazement. "You, who could never be submitted to doing anything you didn't like or agree with, who has always tried to prove how independent and successful you could be is now someone who wakes up to make breakfast for her husband. Just wow."

Amelia noticed how Nancy had said "husband" and not "family". She had no idea what her sister's problem with Owen was. A crescent wave of anger started boiling up inside of her. After all those years, was it possible her family still thought of Owen as one more of her ill-advised, impulsive decisions? She had no idea why Nancy was prone to saying those things, but despite her smile and cool face, Amelia could read the viciousness in her eyes. It was obvious Nancy didn't approve of the life her younger sister was living, and that was hurtful and upsetting. Amelia was about to explode in a furious comeback when Carolyn Shepherd materialized in the kitchen.

"Good morning, girls!" The oldest Shepherd took a seat next to her eldest daughter and looked from her to Amelia. "Amy, you're up early. Everything alright in here?"

They both knew Carolyn had probably been listening for a while and had made an entrance in the most appropriate moment, but she would never admit it.

"Yeah, everything is perfectly fine. Amy was just telling me about her morning routine. It made me think of you when we were younger, mom. Always running around to get her five kids ready in time for school."

"I imagine it must be no different here," Carolyn mentioned, looking around.

The two guests studied the kitchen, taking their time to examine everything. They devoted time especially to the fridge, one of its sides entirely covered in magnets holding photographs, drawings and notes. Amelia noticed as her sister carefully inspected each picture: the twins wearing red ties with blue boats for their passport pictures, Thomas playing on the sand, Lucas holding a soccer ball… And then a picture of herself and Owen smiling at the camera, surrounded by their four boys.

Carolyn, on the other hand, quickly spotted one of the top pictures, where the image of a very happy Derek with his arms wrapped around Amelia's shoulders was nearly hidden by a bunch of crayon colored drawings. Amelia noticed how her mother's eyes lingered on the old photograph. She didn't make any comments and Amelia didn't feel like making one either. Derek's death was something that had affected her life deeply but she had moved on from it. She wasn't sure if her mother had as well.

Amelia took her eyes off both her relatives and continued her morning routine. She was frustrated and very annoyed by the way her mother and sister talked about her life, as if they had any right to say a word about anything. It was clear they still treated her like the inconsequent sixteen year old she had once been. But this was her own house and if it wasn't for Owen who had convinced her to invite her mother and sister to spend a few days during the conference, she would have gladly let her relatives stay at the hotel they were supposed to.

"Where is your husband, by the way?" Nancy asked, as she read the New York Times on her iPad "He just sleeps in and lets you do all the work?"

Amelia stopped slicing the pears she was holding and looked up at her sister. Usually, at this hour, Owen was getting all four boys up, changing the twins' diapers, helping them get into their school clothes and brushing their teeth while she prepared their breakfasts and packed their school bags.

"Yes, he sleeps in and then I bring him breakfast in bed," Amelia replied, sarcastically.

"Amy," Her mother reprimanded her, using a familiar tone.

"I didn't mean to upset you," Nancy lifted her hands in an innocent gesture, slowly rolling her eyes at Amelia's loss of self control.

Amelia knew that sarcasm was on Nancy's long list of things she considered inappropriate. And everything that was slightly over the top to Nancy, she found despicable, especially emotions.

Her sister's list also included speaking too loudly, long fits of laughter and often the subjects Amelia was interested in. The oldest of her sisters never raised her voice, had impeccable table manners and her clothes never had wrinkles. Nancy ran a top rated OB practice in one of the richest towns in Connecticut, her husband was a very successful business owner and both her kids were currently enrolled in an Ivy League university. To the world, she was an example of the perfect mother, wife, daughter and sister.

To Amelia, Nancy was the biggest bully she had ever met. Her oldest sister had the impressive ability of saying the cruelest things while sipping from a cup of expensive tea, keeping a polite corner smile on her face. Amelia really didn't like her smugness, her propriety in every action she took, her lack of spontaneity, and the way she looked down on everyone who wasn't exactly like her. But at the end of the day, Nancy was her sister, Amelia loved her and was affected by the things she said.

"I think I need to hurry or I'll be late for the first day of conference." Nancy gave her mom a quick kiss on the cheek and closed her iPad cover, putting it on her handbag.

Everyone knew Nancy was _never_ late. While she called her sister a cab, Amelia noticed her ironed clothes and perfectly manicured fingernails.

Amelia was wearing dark leggings and a simple v neck t shirt she had woken up in. Her hair was tied up on a loose bun and her face, unlike her sister's, had no trace of makeup. She was starting to think about Nancy's comment about her domesticity and what it really meant when she spotted Owen coming down the stairs, as usual carrying the twins while Thomas and Lucas followed closely after.

"Good morning, ladies," Owen put the twins in their high chairs and smiled at Carolyn and Nancy. Lucas and Thomas wished them good morning too as they took their seats at the table, but it was obvious on their faces both were a little suspicious about having to call two people who they hardly ever saw "aunt" and "grandma".

"It's amazing how the twins look just like you, Owen," Carolyn pointed out, noticing their strawberry blond hair and eyebrows. "Isn't it right, Robert? Daniel?" She kept herself busy trying to get their trust while they had their morning bottles.

Owen looked from his mother-in- law to his wife with an expectant look on his face but Amelia just gave him an excessively grim expression in return. Owen chuckled, kissed her on the forehead and sat on the seat Nancy had vacated.

"The cab is here, I should go," Nancy noticed her sister's husband interact with the rest of the family. "So, I'll meet you guys later today for dinner, right? Mom, take it easy today, I know you came along to spend time with the kids but don't drive yourself to exhaustion."

Carolyn was going to stop by the hospital to see Meredith and then they were all having dinner at the Grey-Riggs house later. What her mother planned to do with the rest of her day, Amelia had no idea. She left Owen with her mother to finish feeding the kids as she ran upstairs to change her clothes and get ready for work.

Afterwards, they drove to work, dropping off the kids on the way to the hospital. Amelia barely knew that her day, which had started on a bad foot, was about to get much worse. She had to push all her elective surgeries, and take two cases from the ER, both of which died on the table. When she thought her day would finally be over, one of her electives crashed, needing an emergency decompressive craniotomy. It was past 6 pm when there was finally the time to sit down and update all the charts.

Amelia wasn't sure she would have the energy to leave her own house if she dropped by to change clothes before going to Meredith's, especially after the horrible day she'd had. So she called Owen between surgeries and he was driving her mother and sister with the kids to dinner, agreeing it was better that Amelia met them there.

After a stop on the attendings' lounge for a quick shower and change of clothes, Amelia took a cab to Meredith's. Not to her surprise, everyone was already there. Other than the Shepherds, Maggie and Andrew, Meredith had also invited over Alex Karev and Jo, who had come over with their children.

"Hey, you look like crap," Maggie welcomed Amelia, offering her a bag of chips.

"Oh thank you, I haven't eaten all day," Amelia took the entire bag from Maggie's hands as she looked around the living room. Her mother was entertained talking to Zola, who was showing her grandmother all her girl scout medals, one by one. Thomas and Lucas were on a corner playing with Bailey, Ellis, and Kate Karev, Alex's four year old daughter. But Meredith and her sister weren't anywhere to be found, same as her husband and Nathan Riggs.

"They're in the kitchen," Maggie answered the question in her eyes, before joining Jo and Deluca in their conversation.

As Amelia made it to the kitchen, Meredith welcomed her with a satisfied smile.

"Hey, we were just waiting for you to serve dinner!"

"I hope it wasn't you who cooked," Amelia couldn't help teasing her, receiving a disapproving look from Nancy and a shout of laughter from Nathan.

"No, it was me, actually." Nathan offered her a supportive glance.

Amelia had always found it amazing how Nathan Riggs was capable of picking stuff up in the air. He could read very well pretty much every situation he found himself in, and he seemed totally comfortable having over his current partner's dead husband's family for dinner. The man could charm himself into any scenario and Amelia admired that about him.

Everyone helped carry the dishes to the dining room, and Amelia followed them closely. She watched as Carolyn took a seat between Meredith and Nancy.

"This is nice, we should do this more often," Maggie whispered in her ear, in her usual positive mood.

"Except the part where we have my family over, that's gotta go," Amelia whispered back "I give you five minutes to have my family bickering at me."

Exactly as Amelia had said, less than five minutes into the conversation, as Nathan Riggs poured everyone wine, Nancy offered to help hand out the glasses and "accidentally" placed one next to Amelia.

"Is that white? Because I usually drink red," Amelia joked, lightening the atmosphere that had become a little tense when people noticed she had been served alcohol. Everyone laughed and quickly engaged in conversation, avoiding putting Amelia on the spot in that awkward way.

"I'm sorry, Amy, I completely forgot," Nancy whispered and took Amelia's glass. "Will you drink water or do you want me to get some of the juice the kids are drinking?"

"You don't have to do anything, it's alright, Nancy, thank you," Owen stepped in, taking the glasses of wine from her hands, visibly irritated. "Why don't you sit down, and I'll help out." He added with a voice that admitted no denials.

Despite Owen's civil words, Amelia could easily identify the furious tone in his voice. He had a flexed muscle in his jaw and she knew him well enough to spot the anger in his eyes when he had spoken to her sister. It wasn't like Owen to make a scene, but in the way he talked to Nancy, he had left it pretty clear he hadn't liked her 'mistake' and condescending words one bit. And if Amelia were to be honest, serious Owen was scarier than angry Owen.

Carolyn Shepherd noticed it too, because she quickly brought up a new subject, involving everyone in a lighthearted conversation to dissipate the awkwardness. After dinner, everyone sat down in the living room to chat, but Amelia was too tired to engage in small talk and be subjected to her sister's scrutiny, so she gave Nathan a hand with the dishes. When she made her way back to the kitchen, every single chair and couch seat was already taken. After stopping by at the site where her kids were playing and giving them attention for a few minutes, she spotted Owen on the far end of Meredith's navy sofa, sitting side by side with Maggie and opposite to her sister.

Amelia sat on the sofa's edge, between his legs, and Owen automatically wrapped his arm around her waist to accommodate her, not bothering to interrupt his conversation with Karev as he involved her in his embrace. When Karev finally excused himself to go after his kids, Owen turned his head back and gave Amelia a kiss on the temple, acknowledging her presence before asking Maggie about the places she had recently gone on her honeymoon with Andrew Deluca.

After a couple of hours, people were already saying their goodbyes when Maggie pulled Amelia to one corner.

"Hey, I need to talk to you. In private. Can we go to the kitchen?"

Amelia followed her trusted sister-friend, not sure what Maggie had in mind, which was why she was surprised when her usually rambling friend blurted out:

"What's the deal with your sister?"

"What?"

"Your sister…" Maggie whispered, looking around to see if they were really alone, "What the hell is wrong with her?"

" Well for starters," Amelia replied in her characteristic irreverent voice "She is a bitter motherfu-"

"Amelia," Maggie interrupted before Amelia could say what she was obviously going to say, "I think your sister might be in love with your husband!"

Amelia was completely caught off guard. She opened her mouth to speak and laugh at Maggie's complete insanity, but no sounds came out. Still processing Maggie's absurd thought, she heard the cardio surgeon begin to explain:

"I thought about what you said in the OR this morning, about you sister not seeming to like Owen and giving you crap because you were preparing breakfast. First I thought she could be jealous of your relationship, God knows everyone is, but really though, what if she's jealous of _you_?" Maggie added, on a fast pace. Her voice was particularly lisp as she fired the words, her mind racing to bring all facts into a conclusive idea "So, after _that_ thought occurred to me, I tried to pay closer attention and I was sitting right in front of her when you came from the kitchen. She looked really uncomfortable when you sat so close to Owen, and she looked even worse when he whispered stuff in your ear and you laughed. I mean, she was watching you guys the whole time. And your sister, honestly, I mean, your sister _is_ way condescending. She kept those crossed legs and that superior look on her face all night and when she gave you a glass of wine, I mean, seriously, who even _forgets_ that…"

"Maggie!" Amelia brought her back from her typical ramble "You're totally losing your mind!"

"No, Amelia," Maggie pulled Amelia back as her friend was about to leave her talking to herself "Listen to me, keep an open eye because I mean this, your sister _was_ looking at you guys and she had _that_ look on her eyes." Maggie emphasized, hoping Amelia would believe her.

"Maggie, this is very, very serious what you're saying," Amelia didn't want to believe it, but she trusted Maggie and had no reason to doubt her.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Amelia. She is family, I know that clouds your judgment, but I am telling you, something is not right."

Amelia trusted intuitions. Last time she'd had one, Thomas had a complication during his surgery and had nearly died. She was about to ask Maggie what she should do when they were interrupted by Meredith and Jo, who were bringing the rest of the stuff from the living room.

"Hey, do you need any more help?" Maggie quickly broke their talk, before anyone could ask anything.

"I think this is the last of it, thanks. Amelia, Owen asked me to tell you to hurry up. Robbie is asleep on the couch and Danny is getting pretty cranky too."

Amelia said goodbye to her sisters and picked up Robbie, while Owen helped the other kids, followed by Carolyn and Nancy. On the way home, Carolyn did most of the talking, mentioning how incredibly amazing Meredith's house was and what were her impressions of Nathan Riggs, the guy who was helping raise her grandchildren.

But during the entire drive, Amelia couldn't help thinking about Maggie's absurd idea.

Yes, it was absurd, but could it be actually true?

Later that night, Amelia was splashing her arms and elbows with moisturizer inside the bathroom as she decided whether or not to share Maggie's opinion with Owen. He would probably disregard it, find it offensive or both. He shouldn't be troubled with the idea, Amelia decided. Nancy was leaving in two days and there was no reason why the subject should be brought up. If Owen knew about the speculation, he would act weird around Nancy and that would raise more questions.

"Hey, you're taking a while in there." Owen called her from the bedroom "Did you fall in or something?"

Amelia went back to the room to find him sitting back on the bed, watching the eleven o'clock news.

"I really miss the living room TV," Owen commented, as Amelia turned off the lights and crawled into bed.

"You barely watch any TV," Amelia reminded him, "But I am kinda glad you're disturbed by it, after all, having them here was your idea."

"Amelia," Owen left a sigh, "They are your family. They're our children's family. We have to be nice to them and nurture a relationship with them."

"I don't have to nurture anything; I've done enough nurturing for a lifetime breastfeeding those four hungry beasts you put inside of me. You're welcome to build a bridge between you and them, just don't put me in it." Amelia didn't filter her thoughts and once she realized what she'd said, she tried again, "On a second thought, don't. Don't build any bridges to go anywhere, just stay exactly where you are."

"What?" Owen's scowl perplexed look showed just how lost he was.

"Nothing." Amelia lied, trying to avoid his gaze but failing "You know what? I'm just gonna say it. I shouldn't, but I want to. Babe, Maggie thinks Nancy treats me like crap because she is jealous."

"Jealous?" Owen tried to understand.

"Of me for having you" Amelia said it, like it was obvious.

Owen made the same face she had once made when Maggie first suggested the insane idea.

"Amelia, I think you need a neuro consult."

"Just think about it, ok?" Amelia then repeated everything Maggie had said.

"This really does not make sense," Owen disregarded the subject, as Amelia predicted, "You're seeing too much into this. Your sister is married, Amelia."

"Big deal!" Amelia said ironically. "Like that's a reason not to look elsewhere."

"Well, I am married and I _don't_ look elsewhere," Owen replied, offended. Again, as Amelia had predicted.

"No, babe, I didn't mean that," Amelia regretted her blunt choice of words and seeing Owen was growing annoyed with that conversation, she cleared things up. "I meant to say not everyone has the same moral standards about fidelity and loyalty. I don't know where Nancy stands on that. I wouldn't be shocked if Maggie turned out to be right, really."

"The two of you are a true conspiracy team, you should stop letting Maggie put these absurd ideas in your head."

"But Maggie is my friend. She does what she thinks is best for me," Amelia rolled over on the bed forcing Owen to keep looking at her. "You do too. I didn't thank you for saving me from having to make a scene with my sister today."

"I didn't like the way she treated you," Owen confessed with his arms crossed, looking angry as he refused to take his eyes off the TV to talk to her.

"I know," Amelia gazed at him adoringly at him and ran her the palm of her hand on his arm to his elbow "I really do appreciate you having my back today."

Owen left out a slow, heavy sigh before he gave up on the news and finally gave her attention again.

"I'll always have your back. No one is allowed to treat you like that. Not on my watch." Owen seemed furious when he remembered the scene but Amelia wasn't angry. Not anymore. The horrible day she'd had and the things she'd been put through that day, none of that really mattered.

What mattered was she knew she had Owen by her side, and nothing would ever come in the way of that, because she wouldn't let it.

"As I said, I didn't thank you," Amelia lay on her elbow, running a hand on his chest from his stomach "Thank you."

Owen gave her a kiss and embraced her as Amelia rested her hand on his chest. He watched the rest of the news, lazily caressing her hair. He was starting to regret his decision to invite Amelia's sister to spend the weekend, but it was too late now to say anything.

Maybe Amelia was right. They didn't need her family to make their lives complete. Their lives were already complete. And to have a family near that would cause all those problems, perhaps it was really better not have anyone there at all.


	10. Chapter 10

Hi Guys!

So we've come to the end of this story. Thank you so much to all of you who've stayed with me during all this time. I really am very grateful!

 **MY BOYS – CHAPTER 10**

Owen was in the backyard of his house, sitting by the grass building a tower out of blocks with Robbie and Danny while Thomas and Lucas ran around in superman capes, scaring away the birds and pretending to be superheroes.

It was Saturday afternoon, but Amelia had been paged at 5 AM to scrub in on an emergency surgery. Their guests weren't home either; Nancy had left early for the last day of her conference and Carolyn had gone out with Meredith to visit the place where Derek had been buried.

As they entered July, the days started to get much warmer. Owen was wearing only a simple pair of dark shorts due to the fact that after the boys had sprinkled everything with the backyard hose, he had stripped off his wet shirt and hadn't bothered to go pick a new one. When the kids finally seemed tired of running around in the last hours of sunlight, Owen decided it was time to go back inside so they could be properly showered before he started to prepare their dinner.

He slid open the kitchen door, letting the boys pass, and to his surprise, he found Nancy sitting there, a laptop plugged into a socket nearby while she typed something sitting on one of the highs stools.

"Nancy, hey," Owen was caught off guard by her unexpected presence. "I thought you were at the conference."

"I was," she replied, staring at him for a second more than it was appropriate, clearly uncomfortable by his shirtless figure, "But since it was the last day, they only had a round table scheduled."

Her eyes asked the question she was too polite to formulate and Owen explained while he took from the fridge 4 colorful fruit popsicles.

"We were playing with the hose outside," he grinned, but it felt awkward to be inspected by Amelia's sister, especially after what his wife had speculated with him the previous night. "It's really hot outside."

"Oh, that's okay," she took his explanation as an apology "You let your kids eat _that_?" Nancy scowled at the popsicles just as he ripped the bags to help the twins.

Owen didn't understand where she was coming from.

"It's just ice cream," he said with a confused look.

"It has an insane amount of sugar and artificial coloring," Nancy justified.

She was really irritating but Owen didn't want to be rude. After a couple of days with her, Owen could see why Amelia found her insufferable.

"I think they'll survive," He joked, trying to get out of there as fast as possible. Nancy was clearly judging him and she just wouldn't stop looking at him as he helped out the kids. "Guys, let's leave your Aunt Nancy go back to what she was doing and let's take those upstairs. Come on, don't spill any on the floor."

Owen took the boys upstairs, thinking it may be better to order food, after all. He didn't want to share the kitchen with his sister-in-law if it could be helped.

Owen had just put all the boys inside the shower when Amelia parked the car outside. She entered the house and slammed the door accidentally, noting from the living room that she had startled her sister.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Amelia approached, dumping her handbag on the kitchen counter and opening the fridge without ceremony. "What are you up to?"

"Just answering some emails while I wait for mom to get back so I can take her out to dinner. How was your surgery?"

"Surgeries," Amelia corrected her, "I had to wait nearly four hours for an OR because they were backed up. Too many trauma cases today, I'm glad Owen wasn't on call, otherwise we'd be screwed."

"Well, he seemed to be having fun around here," Nancy took her eyes off her screen to look at her sister "relaxing outside with no clothes on all afternoon."

"What?" Amelia choked on her water. She laughed at the absurdity of the situation taking place in front of Nancy.

"And honestly, Amy, the stuff you guys are feeding these kids. Today I saw Owen giving them ice cream. And yesterday one of them was having a chocolate cookie. It won't surprise me if one of them gets sick because…"

"Vincent and Hannah always ate organic carrots, I presume," Amelia tried to keep her cool and took the opportunity to change topics. "How are they, by the way?"

"They're in Yale," Nancy said like that answered Amelia's question. To Amelia's sister, being in Yale apparently meant having no problems. "You should really consider the choices you're making for your kids right now, Amelia, if you want to send them to an Ivy League, a public kindergarten is a lousy start. You know this better than I; you almost got turned down by Harvard because of your problem."

"Alright, that's it," Amelia raised her palm in a clear sign that her sister should stop talking "You've said enough already, Nancy. Keep the rest to yourself. I'll take care of what I do or do not feed my children and where I send them to school."

"Amy, I'm saying this thinking of your best interest-"

"Are you," Amelia interrupted her, "Really?" Amelia circled around the counter, standing directly in front of her sister. "Because honestly, it sounds like you're always criticizing just to entertain yourself."

Nancy let out an outraged sigh.

"I'm not always criticizing."

"Oh, but you are," Amelia said with conviction. "Ever since you got here, all you've done is tell me how unfit my life is! You don't think my house is big enough; you don't think it is right that I cook, or clean, or do dishes. You always imply how you're better at this and that, and how your life is perfect in every tiny aspect, criticizing Owen like he was the worst thing that ever happened to me, when, guess what, he was actually the best!"

As words started coming out of Amelia's mouth, she wasn't able to stop. "You're here with that attitude of how your life is better than everyone else's, because you're perfect Nancy, you're never late, you're never loud, your house is as tidy and clean as your life but that's not me!" Amelia paced forward but changed her mind and stepped back, furiously scratching her forehead "I'm late and I'm loud, and I often forget to do laundry… I get parking tickets! My husband doesn't run a multi-million dollar company, but he cooks us dinner, he is a good dad and he tries his best!" She felt her eyes get watery but she was too proud to cry at that moment "He is always here for us and I love him… that's enough for me! I like my life the way it is! I wouldn't change anything about it if could, and to see you look down on me like I'm beneath you because I don't live in a mansion makes me seriously wanna punch you on the face!" As Amelia nearly yelled, she realized what she had been saying was true.

Given a choice, she really wouldn't change anything about her life.

She expected Nancy to say she was being ridiculous and dramatic, as her sister often did. But the instant Amelia started to talk about loving the life she had right now, her sister's eyes lost some of its sparkle and the truth suddenly dawned on Amelia and everything began to make sense.

Nancy wasn't jealous of Owen.

All the moments her sister had been caught staring at Owen, she was actually watching him interact with Amelia. Nancy was uncomfortable when she saw Owen kiss her or come near her, when she watched him play with the boys or when Amelia defended him. But it actually had nothing to do with him.

Nancy was jealous of _Amelia_.

Her sister's constant critics and attempts to undermine Amelia's life and marriage weren't because she thought Amelia's life sucked, but because she envied it.

The more Amelia thought about it, the more it made sense. Nancy was always worried about appearances, but she never mentioned her husband, and to Amelia it had always seen like they had a distant relationship. Both her kids had gone off to University and she didn't remember ever seeing them or hearing about them in the few times Amelia had gone to their mother's for thanksgiving or Christmas.

And it wasn't only Nancy who reserved that treatment for her. Kathleen also had spent the last seven years looking down on Amelia, but she had recently found out her sister's husband had left her for a young secretary. Liz was the only one of her sisters who didn't make her feel like crap, but Liz was always too busy with her seven kids to ever be a part of anything.

Amelia Shepherd, the black sheep of the family, the one who had screwed up everything her entire life was now the only one of the four sisters who could say she was happy in her marriage and satisfied with her life. Her sisters ran successful practices and had outstanding careers, but their personal lives were a mess, unlike Amelia's.

"I never meant to look down on your life, Amelia," Nancy was obviously fighting back tears and her usually arrogant voice was now sounding much more humble and vulnerable. "Quite the opposite, actually. You've gotten pretty lucky, I'd say."

"It has nothing to do with luck," Amelia snapped. "Nobody gave me anything. I fought to build this home and I fight to keep it together every day."

Nancy seemed to think for a moment and Amelia could swear she heard her sister sniffing.

"Of course, you're absolutely right," Nancy stood up and turned her back to Amelia, grabbing her things "I'm sorry I said anything that might have offended you. I really didn't want to upset you."

Amelia was angry at Nancy, furious to be honest, but seeing her sister heartbroken like that really messed with her. She felt a protective instinct develop inside her heart and lowered her voice:

"Nancy, I didn't mean to hurt you, either. I am not judging you. I didn't mean to say you have a shitty life."

"Oh, but I do." Nancy turned around, not bothering to fight back tears anymore. "Who am I kidding, Amy? I've known forever my marriage is over, but I never admit it. I mean, my husband and I barely exchange any words anymore. Hannah and Vincent hate us, the only reason they ever come home is to ask us for more money. I guess I can't really blame them." Nancy took out a tissue from her handbag, politely drying her tears "I mean, we sent them to all the best schools and they went to Europe every summer, but I never really sat down on the floor to play with them the way you do it with your kids. They never welcomed me home hugging my legs and cheering the way your kids do, because truth be told, I never let them. My husband looks at me and he doesn't see a woman, he sees a business partner. I see the way Owen looks at you. And the way he takes care of you and the kids. He is a good guy, Amelia."

"Yeah, he is," Amelia sat beside her sister.

"I know you've been through hell in your life, so you probably know this but I'm going to say it anyway, don't ever take him for granted. I know I did and it ruined my marriage."

"Nancy, you're still young, your life is not over. You can start again. You can be happy."

Nancy was silent for a few seconds, thinking about what her sister had said. Then she broke down crying.

"Since when do little sisters give advice to their big sisters? It's supposed to be the other way around."

Amelia chuckled and was compelled to do something she had never done before; she hugged Nancy. As her arms involved the fragile figure of her sister, she felt Nancy crushing her against herself, as if she had been needing that hug for a long time.

When they finally broke apart, Amelia encouraged her:

"I'm not just saying this, Nancy, I mean it. If you're not happy with your life, you can change it. You have the strength inside yourself, I know you do."

"Thanks" Nancy sheepishly agreed.

Amelia didn't know what to say anymore, so she just waited until her sister pulled herself back together.

"You know, I've always known one day you could turn your life around and become an example for other people, Amelia. It seems like you really have."

As Nancy said the words, she left the kitchen, heading to the guest room. Amelia stood by the counter, thinking about what she had just heard and not quite believing it. Never in a million years had she thought she would hear anyone in the family say that.

She had always been the wrong, the unfit Shepherd. As she grew older, Amelia had accepted that her relatives thought ill of her but as of now, she'd matured enough so that she didn't feel like her mother's or her sisters' approval were necessary for her to be happy anymore. The last seven years were proof of that. Ever since she had married Owen and taken control of her own life going against of what her family thought was right and towards what really made her happy, Amelia had experienced a feeling of freedom like no other. She had done it, she had chased happiness and she had moved on with her life, from her obscure past to her gratifying present. And it paid off a great deal every day.

But still, to hear her sister say that she had become an example meant more than anyone could ever imagine. And Amelia believed her, finally being able to make peace with her past.

Amelia went upstairs, to find Owen and the kids sitting on their king size bed, watching cartoons on the TV. The boys had a healthy color to their faces and their blonde hairs were still wet from the shower. Amelia was so happy to see them she couldn't begin to describe it.

"Momma!" One of the twins stood up on the bed, quickly followed by the other.

Amelia stood by the edge of the mattress, her arms wide open to welcome them in her embrace.

"Oh, I missed you guys so much!" She rejoiced in their happy smiles when they saw her.

"Momma, dad says he isn't cooking tonight, can we go out, please, _please?_ " Lucas greeted her with a toothless smile.

"Oh, Luke, you lost a tooth!"

"Yeah, it happened during lunch!" The boy proudly showed off his new smile "So, mama, can we, please?"

"Luke, mom's been working since very early this morning, she is very tired. Why don't we order something? You guys can choose what this time."

"No, it's okay, really." Amelia lay on the bed, dragging Thomas down with her and covering his head with kisses "We can go out to that space place." She knew that Lucas's desire to go out had everything to do with the themed restaurant.

"They have spaceships, mom," Thomas smiled from ear to ear.

"Yes, baby, they do," Amelia smiled back and moved her body on the bed, nestling next to her husband.

"Hi," Owen smiled at her, placing one lock of her hair behind her ear, "Someone looks tired."

"And happy to be home," She kissed him on the lips hearing Lucas's 'eww'. "Just keep thinking like that until you're 20, ok?" She told her son.

The boy gave her a confused look but quickly hurried up to his bedroom in search of his astronaut shirt, being closely followed by Thomas.

"You're really up for going out?" Owen asked her as she turned around to face him, watching the twins, whose attentions had gone back to the cartoon on the TV. "I know you're tired, I can take Luke and Tom if you want to stay home."

"No, let's go," Amelia was exhausted but she wanted to spend time with their family, especially after the moment she'd just had in the kitchen with her sister. She felt like she had no time to lose. Every day, she was given a chance to create those memories with her family. She didn't want to miss out on any of it.

"Ok, then." Owen gave her a meaningful look as his hand traveled up toward her waist, playing at the exposed skin at the hem of her shirt. Once he locked eyes with her, he slid his palm beneath the shirt onto her stomach, his thumb playing on her bellybutton as he gently squeezed the soft skin of her belly. "You know, maybe when we come back, we can put another baby in there."

"What?" Amelia laughed hard at the insane idea. Owen's hand was so large it nearly covered the whole area of her stomach, but she loved feeling the touch of his rough palm against her delicate skin. "You're very funny."

"Think about it, babe," Owen lay down next to her, propped his head up on his elbow to look directly into her eyes. "Wouldn't you love to have another baby? Maybe we could have a girl."

"It could always be another boy, you know… fifty-fifty" Amelia blurted out, but when she realized she had actually been dragged to his insane idea, she disregarded it "Or maybe, it could be none. No more babies."

"Or maybe," Owen continued with his game, being adorably sweet as he drew idle circles with his fingers around her bellybutton "This is the perfect time for us to have a daughter. She would have four big brothers. The boys would be thrilled to have a sister. This house could use some flowers, and butterflies and princesses tiaras. There's too much blue in here already."

"You mean, the house that is already too small for its present occupants?" Amelia teased him, recalling the way he had "sided" with her sister before.

Owen laughed at her sassiness, knowing it wouldn't be Amelia if she didn't take the opportunity to get back at his comment when she felt he had not "taken her side".

Amelia looked at him, saw the hope in his eyes and smiled gently into his lips. Her family with Owen was everything she had ever dreamed of. She thought having another baby was an insane idea; they were already in over their heads with four kids. But she didn't have the courage to deny him something that she knew would make him so happy.

"I will think about it," she said, not really agreeing or denying.

Owen was satisfied with her answer and bent his head forward, capturing her lips in a sweet, long kiss.

"Mom, Dad, we're ready!" Lucas and Thomas came back storming inside the room, dressed in astronaut shirts.

"Eww, you're kissing each other again," Lucas scowled, making his parents laugh.

"Yeah, one day you will have a girlfriend and won't think like that, buddy." Owen smiled at him, changing his clothes to go out to dinner.

"I don't like girls," Lucas said with conviction. "All they do is dance ballet and try to hold hands with me. They don't like it when I invite them to play soccer with me." He added, very offended.

Amelia laughed at her son's disappointment with the opposite sex, grateful it would be a while before any of their sons started showing interest in girls. She did not look forward to dealing with that.

"Alright, let's go," she said, after she had changed Danny and Robbie.

Amelia spent the next two hours having the time of her life as she listened to Lucas's and Thomas's stories and theories about the universe and how they would become astronauts one day, except maybe for when Lucas would be playing soccer down on Earth. The twins tried to participate in every conversation that was started, looking up to their oldest brothers in a loving manner. Amelia was impressed by how their vocabulary was quickly improving. They would turn two later that month, just three weeks after Lucas's sixth birthday.

The boys fell asleep on the way back and while Amelia left Owen the job of carrying them inside, keeping busy with changing their clothes into pajamas and putting them in their beds. When Owen came back from the twins' room, closing the door after him, he went to the check on the oldest boys, finding Amelia sound asleep next to Thomas in a car shaped bed. She had probably fallen asleep the minute she had finished changing his clothes.

He couldn't help smiling when he noticed how small and fragile she looked sound asleep curled up next to their son. But he knew there was nothing fragile about Amelia. She was tough, strong and very resilient. He admired her more than any other person he knew. Amelia made his life better every day, with her contagious joy, her inner strength and her wonderful smile.

Owen thought about the long day she'd had, and how she still insisted in going out because the boys were thrilled about it. Amelia wasn't satisfied with being good. She wanted to be great. And she was. A great mom, a great wife and a great woman.

He carried her to their room, but this time, she didn't move a muscle when he placed her on the bed. Owen lay next to her, and passed one arm around her waist before falling asleep too. When he woke up the following morning, they were still in the same position.

Nancy and Carolyn left Seattle on Sunday morning, after they all had breakfast together. Owen noticed the change in Nancy's mood; she seemed sadder but at the same time, more honest. Even though he had offered to drive them to the airport, they insisted on taking a cab.

Amelia walked them outside and just as she was about to close the door on her mom's side of the car, Carolyn grabbed her elbow and pulled her closer, within hearing distance of her nearly whispering voice:

"Amy, I know I don't say this nearly enough but it's important that you… I want you to know that I do feel proud when I think of you. Don't go thinking you're a disappointment to everyone because baby, you've more than enough reasons to be proud of yourself."

Amelia wasn't expecting to hear that from her mother, at that moment or ever. She didn't know how to react or what to say, so she just gave her mom a gentle squeeze on the hand that held her arm and watched her, as the cab drove further away.

It felt like a heavy weight had been taken off her chest, a weight Amelia didn't know she had been carrying. She felt happier than she ever remembered feeling and to Owen it was obvious on her expression that something had changed.

They spent the entire Sunday being lazy with the kids. After lunch, the skies turned gray and it started to rain soon after the boys had gone inside. Amelia sat down with Owen to plan their upcoming trip to Florida, checking their reservations and when they were finally alone after the boys went to bed, she decided it was time to tell her husband about the moment she'd had with her sister the previous day and with her mom a few hours before.

Later that night, as she lay naked in Owen's arms, Amelia narrated details of the discussion she'd had with Nancy. He listened carefully as his wife opened her heart to him, sharing how she felt about what she had heard from her relatives. Owen didn't say anything back, he just held her tightly and kissed her head. Amelia knew that in that embrace, a thousand words of understanding and care were said and she didn't need anything else.

As she closed her eyes in the warmth of Owen's body, feeling him fall asleep next to her, she recalled every event in her life that had led her up to that point. Her mind drowned in memories of how she had overcome drug addiction and alcoholism, the loss of her firstborn, of Derek… All the painful decisions she had to make between what was right and what was easy, and how she had never taken the easiest path.

Amelia didn't regret ever making the hard choice. She had fought in her life. A lot.

And ultimately, she had won.

She had the life she had ever dreamed of, and it had all started when the wonderful man next to her held her hand, in a candlelit chapel.

Back then, she didn't have much. She was still struggling, trying to fit in while feeling lost in the world like a million other souls out there.

But now, she had love, a home, and most important of all, a family to call her own. They were her everything: the main reason for her smiles, the first thought in her mind every morning and her biggest and undying source of happiness and love. Everything she did was for them. She was entirely theirs: body, heart and soul.

And they were all hers. Owen, Lucas, Thomas, Robbie and Danny.

Her boys.

I'd love to hear your opinions/impressions !

A couple of people have asked for a sequel, let me know if you guys are up to it!

Thanks for all the support!


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